>> Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare group of cancerous tumors
of the soft tissues, either of the extremities,
the arms and legs,
or in the central part of the body as well.
They typically occur in areas such as muscle or fat,
though they can occur
in most of the soft tissues of the body.
There's more than 50 different subtypes,
or different types of soft tissue sarcoma,
that are recognized by the World Health Organization,
and each of them dictates
slightly different treatment modality.
So there are multiple types of soft tissue sarcoma.
Liposarcoma is probably the most common,
though there are any of a number of more than
50 different types that are recognized.
The most common being liposarcoma
and what's called the undifferentiated
pleomorphic sarcoma, which is
more of a wastebasket term
for things that don't look like any of the others.
We often, based off of
both the clinical and radiologic examination,
have a high suspicion for a soft tissue sarcoma,
but, ultimately, we require a biopsy,
where a small piece of the tumor is looked at
under the microscope by a pathologist
to make sure that we have the correct diagnosis,
as well as the correct type
in order to dictate the proper care.
Nearly all soft tissue sarcomas are treated with surgery.
It's called a wide excision, where we take out the tumor
with a narrow zone of tissue around it
to ensure that the entire tumor
and all of its cells are removed.
Depending on multiple other clinical factors,
including the patient's age and how aggressive the tumor is,
the addition of radiation and/or chemotherapy
is also discussed in clinical detail as appropriate.
The grade of a soft tissue sarcoma is
an indication of its biologic aggressiveness.
When we look at it under the microscope,
we can see how aggressive the tumor cells are,
and that helps indicate its likelihood of
both coming back locally,
as well as spreading to other parts of the body.
Most soft tissue sarcomas,
we don't understand why they developed in the first place.
There are some hereditary risk factors,
patients with rare genetic syndromes
that predispose to developing soft tissue sarcomas exists.
In addition, those that have conditions such as
prior radiation to the area, that's a known risk factor.
But most of our patients,
we have no real understanding as to why it developed.
Here at Johns Hopkins, we have multiple investigations
that are currently ongoing.
We work closely with our colleagues
in both radiology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology
to continue to innovate new methods
to improve our patients' outcomes.
In addition, we have an ongoing tissue bank,
where patients have volunteered to
donate a small sample of their tumor
for future research projects
so that we can continue investigate
for years to come.
(calm music)