Sarcomas are a group of devastating cancers arising in the connective tissues, including fat, muscle, cartilage and bone.

Sarcomas account for less than 3% of all cancers. Almost 90% of sarcomas occur in adults but affect a younger population than most cancers. Sarcomas comprise 20% of cancers in children and up to 10% in young adults. Two in five patients with sarcoma will go on to die from their disease. The effect of sarcoma on the community in terms of disability-adjusted life years is huge and comparable to cervical cancer. Research published in the United States shows a highly, statistically significant correlation between conducting research and survival; in other words, research impacts directly upon survival.

 

Primary bone sarcoma

Malignant tumors that begin in bone tissue are called primary bone cancer. Cancer that metastasizes (spreads) to the bones from other parts of the body, such as the breast, lung, or prostate, is called metastatic cancer, and is named for the organ or tissue in which it began.

 

Soft tissue sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that starts in soft tissues of the body, including muscle, tendons, fat, lymph vessels, blood vessels, nerves, and tissue around joints. The tumors can be found anywhere in the body but often form in the arms, legs, chest, or abdomen.

 

Secondary bone tumours (metastatic disease)

The place where a cancer starts in the body is called the primary cancer. Sometimes cells break away from the primary cancer and are carried in the bloodstream to another part of the body. … Secondary cancer in the bone happens when cancer cells spread to the bone from a primary tumour somewhere else in the body.