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Frequently Asked Questions

A sarcoma is a rare form of cancer that affects our connective tissues: bones, cartilage, fibrous tissue, fatty tissue, nerves, and vessels. The two main forms of sarcoma are bone and soft tissue.

There are ~3000 bone sarcomas diagnosed per year in the United States and ~12,000 soft tissue diagnoses.

Bone: Progressive pain and a growing mass; occasionally present when the bone fractures

Soft tissue: Typically painless growing mass

The three most common bone sarcomas are; Osteosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, and Chondrosarcoma.

Liposarcoma, synovial sarcoma, fibrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, neurofibrosarcoma, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma

Sarcomas require a multi-disciplinary treatment approach.  Combining wide surgical resection, radiation therapy techniques, and chemotherapy tailored to each patient and each diagnosis.  Some general approaches include using wide surgical resection and radiation therapy for most large high-grade soft tissue sarcomas.  The majority of Osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma patients are treated with multi-agent cytotoxic chemotherapy for several months and a wide surgical resection.