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Sarcoma Prevention

Prevention is not yet possible for sarcomas, but Winship’s team of experts continues to work on sarcoma prevention to give you the best outcomes possible.

Preventing Sarcoma

The vast majority of sarcomas are sporadic, meaning they occur at random with no known way to prevent them. There are more than 150 types of sarcoma, each one biologically unique and requiring different treatment. Each requires an individual, personalized approach — like the one patients can expect to receive at Winship.

While sarcomas cannot be prevented, there are ways to effectively diagnose and treat them. As Georgia’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University is one of the only cancer centers in the Southeast with a multidisciplinary sarcoma tumor board with dedicated sarcoma clinicians that meets weekly to develop the best treatment plans for each patient’s particular type of sarcoma.

Types of Sarcomas

A sarcoma is a type of malignant tumor that develops within bone or originates from the various soft tissue components of the body such as muscles, adipose tissue (fat), nerves or blood vessels. These malignant bone and soft tissue tumors (i.e., sarcomas) must be distinguished from the more common benign bone and soft tissue family of tumors.

Sarcomas are a diverse group of bone sarcomas (20%) and soft tissue sarcomas (80%). Sarcomas can occur anywhere in the body with approximately 150 different types of sarcomas being discovered to date. About 50% of sarcomas develop in the extremities, while 25% develop in the abdomen or retroperitoneum, and 10% develop in the trunk area.

The various types of bone and soft tissue tumors include:

  • Benign bone tumors. These non-cancerous bone tumors, which include osteochondormas, nonossifying fibromas and chondroblastomas, are much more common than malignant bone tumors. Benign bone tumors are largely sporadic, but certain genetic conditions can increase the risk of developing such tumors.
  • Bone sarcomas. These bone cancers, which include osteosarcoma, chordoma and chondrosarcoma, are extremely rare, but they typically develop in children—about 3,900 patients are diagnosed every year in the U.S.
  • Benign soft tissue tumors. These tumors are the common lumps and bumps, including lipomas, neurofibromas and schwannomas, that arise from the various soft tissue components in the human body. Most can be observed but those that are symptomatic and those that grow large may need to be removed.
  • Soft tissue sarcomas. Fewer than 1% of all soft tissue tumors are malignant. These include undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS), liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, synovial sarcoma and others. They develop in the connective tissue of the body like the muscle, adipose tissue, nerves and blood vessels, and most often occur in adults.

Sarcoma Risk Factors

Experts are still working to understand the causes of sarcoma, however, there are certain sarcoma risk factors that scientists have identified.

In soft tissue sarcomas, certain DNA mutations can cause normal cells to change and potentially become cancerous. These changes usually occur over the course of a person’s life and are not passed down at birth. DNA changes could occur because of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals or radiation (for example, from previous cancer treatment).

While most sarcomas happen sporadically, or for no apparent reason, there are certain genetic conditions that increase a person’s risk for developing sarcoma at some point during their life.

Benign bone tumors have been linked to inherited conditions such as:

  • Multiple hereditary exostosis (MHE)
  • Ollier’s disease
  • Maffucci’s disease
  • McCune-Albright syndrome

Soft tissue sarcomas have been linked to inherited conditions such as:

  • Neurofibromatosis
  • Tuberous sclerosis
  • Werner syndrome
  • Li-Fraumeni syndrome
  • Retinoblastoma

Sarcoma Signs and Symptoms

Depending on the type of sarcoma, signs and symptoms vary greatly. In the early stages, there often are no detectable signs or symptoms associated with sarcoma other than a painless lump. At a later stage with large tumors, pain is a common symptom of sarcoma. Any mass that is larger than three centimeters should be evaluated by a doctor. 

If the sarcoma is in the abdomen, it can go unnoticed until the tumor is large enough to press on other organs or become painful.

In the case of bone sarcomas, such as osteosarcoma, symptoms usually start as pain and swelling in and around the bone, leading to an inability to use a limb or reduced mobility in that area of the body for no apparent reason.

Ways to Prevent Sarcoma

Sarcoma prevention does not yet exist. According to experts, there are no lifestyle-related or environmental causes of sarcoma, which means that there is no determined way to prevent these tumors from forming. In addition, the genetic conditions that may increase a person’s risk cannot be changed, however screening in these patients may be warranted,