subject: Proper and Useful Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcoma [print this page] Proper and Useful Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcoma
The treatment of the soft tissue sarcoma depends on the stage of the cancer. Soft tissues are generally the connective tissues of the body. These tissues are also called the fibrous tissues. Sarcomas of soft tissues are relatively uncommon form of cancer. The reason is that the cells of the soft tissues do not continuous divide so chances of malignancies are less. So soft tissue sarcoma only accounts for 1% of the new cancer cases each year. Soft tissue sarcomas usually do not show any symptoms during its early days.
Soft tissues are more elastic so tumor size is large which pushes the normal tissues aside. The first symptom could be a lump or swelling which is painless. Other symptoms become noticeable when the tumor keeps on growing. These could be pain or soreness in where the sarcoma is caused. The symptom could be noticed now as it presses the nerves and muscles of the surrounding areas. When the malignancy of the soft tissues of the abdomen happens, the pain is normally mistaken as the pain for indigestion, constipation or menstrual cramps. As the malignancy gets identified late the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma gets delayed in most of the cases.
The only way to identify the type of the soft tissue tumor is to go for a biopsy test. The soft tissues which have lumps which persist or grow must be sent for biopsy to get sure whether it is a sarcoma. The method of the biopsy could be needle biopsy or surgical biopsy. Radiation, chemotherapy or surgeries are the different methods for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
Depending on the stage of the cancer, the treatment is prescribed. The size and the grade of the tumor determines in stage of sarcoma. Before the treatment starts, it has to be known if the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes or to the other parts of the body.
The most common treatment of soft tissue sarcoma is surgery. The doctors remove the cancer and the some part of healthy tissue around it so that it reduces the further chances of sarcoma. Radiation therapy is ideally used to shrink the soft tissue which has the malignancy. Radiation therapy can also be used after the surgery to kill the malignant cells which are left behind. In some cases this therapy is used to treat those tumors which cannot be removed by surgery.
Researches have shown that by using the radiation therapy, the rate of local control of the sarcoma has improved but the effect on the overall system is not much.
Chemotherapy is another type of treatment which is may be used along with the radiation therapy. Chemotherapy treatment can also be used before or after the surgery as needed. Chemotherapy is not very effective to prevent the spread of soft tissue sarcoma. It is an ideal treatment of soft tissue sarcoma when the tumors have spread all over the body. This therapy reduces the pain and shrinks the tumors.
