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Sarcomas
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Synovial Sarcoma
Synovial sarcoma (SS)
is a soft tissue sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas are malignant tumors
of
non-epithelial, extraskeletal tissue of
the body, including the muscle, fat,
fibrous
tissue, vessels and peripheral nervous system. They form a diverse group of
mesenchymal malignancies, classified on
a
histologic basis according to the adult
tissue they resemble or are supposed to derive from. These tumors are rare.
With an annual incidence of around 2-3/100,000, they account for less than
1% of all malignant tumors and 2% of all cancer-related deaths, although in
children soft tissue sarcomas represent about 8% of all malignancies. SS
represents one of the most frequent malignant tumors of soft tissues,
accounting for about 8% of all soft tissue sarcomas.
SS
is the most frequent non-rhabdomyosarcomatous
soft tissue sarcoma in adolescents and young adults, accounting for 15-20%
of cases. The peak of incidence is in the 3rd decade
(approximately 30% of cases occur in patients less than twenty years of
age), and males are affected more often than females (male/female ratio
around 1.2:1). Dr. Andrea Ferrari and Dr. Paolo Collini of the
stituto Nazionale per lo
Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italy have written a detailed overview
of SS
for the Electronic Sarcoma Update Newsletter.
Click
here to view their article. It contains an extensive set of
references on
SS.
There are over 50 subtypes of sarcoma. The
American Cancer Society's
Key Statistics About Sarcoma states
that the most common types of soft tissue sarcoma are: MFH or Malignant
Fibrous Histiocytoma (28%), liposarcoma (15%), LMS or leiomyosarcoma (12%),
synovial sarcoma (10%), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (6%), and
rhabdomyosarcoma (5%). All of the other types of soft tissue sarcoma occur
at percentages of 3% or less.
The ACS'
Key Statistics for Bone Cancer states
that the most common types of bone cancer are osteosarcoma (35%),
chondrosarcoma (26%), Ewing's bone sarcoma (16%), chordoma (8%), and
malignant fibrous histiocytoma/fibrosarcoma (6%). Other rare bone cancers
account for the remaining 9%.
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Where else can
you learn about Synovial Sarcoma?
Steve Dunn's
CancerGuide provides a very useful starting point for
undertaking investigations into cancer and cancer-related issues
on the Internet. Among other things, he discusses how to
research the medical literature and how to use and access
medical databases and online resources. He explains the medical
research cycle, where to get medical references and describes
the various types of papers in the medical literature, and how
to find and use a medical library.
A word of caution: while the
Internet is a wonderful tool to gain access to information,
simply because information appears on the Internet does not
necessarily indicate that it is accurate or truthful. Any heath
information that you obtain on the internet should be reviewed
with your physician.
Interested readers are encouraged to continue
their understanding of SS by examining the resources at the websites listed below:
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Support Groups.
There is an online support group for synovial sarcoma patients on
the myspace website. You can join the group by
clicking here.
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