Soft Tissue Sarcoma Program

Why Choose Us?

Our expert team offers cutting edge care and innovative surgical, medical oncology, and radiation oncology treatments designed to eradicate the tumor, prevent local recurrence, improve survival and optimize limb function.
The program brings together a team of specialties, who work collaboratively and meet regularly as a multidisciplinary tumor board to discuss each patient's case. This ensures our patients receive complete care that includes access to an array of treatment options.

What We Treat

The most common soft tissue sarcomas in adults are:

• Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma: An aggressive type of cancerous soft tissue tumor, which can quickly spread to other parts of the body. It usually forms in the arms, legs, or body.
• Retroperitoneal Sarcomas:
  • Liposarcoma: This tumor normally develops in fat tissue of the stomach but can also form in the thighs or other areas of your body.
  • Leiomyosarcoma: This type of cancer begins in the smooth muscle tissue. It can form in any part of the body, but the uterus and stomach are the most common places.
• Desmoid tumors: Non-cancerous growths that occur in connective tissue of the legs, arms and abdomen (also known as aggressive fibromatosis).

Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors

Many of the symptoms associated with soft tissue sarcoma symptoms are like other common conditions. However, soft tissue sarcoma symptoms tend to persist and become more noticeable. These include:

• Swelling under the skin, which causes a painless lump which becomes larger over time, and that you can’t move.
• Swelling in the stomach which may cause pain, a feeling of fullness or constipation.
• Swelling near the lungs causing you to feel breathless or cough.
• Pain from the sarcoma pressing on your nerves.

Other general symptoms can include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Losing weight for no reason
• Unusual fatigue.

Always talk to your doctor if any of these symptoms persist or worsen. If it is caught early, soft tissue sarcoma is treatable of survival rates are increased.

Causes & Risk Factors

Doctors still don’t understand the exact cause of soft tissue sarcomas. They believe it may be triggered by several factors, including:

• DNA changes that cause healthy cells to become cancerous
• Rare syndromes which you have inherited, which may increase your risk
• Environmental factors including certain chemicals or previously having radiation treatment for a different type of cancer

Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis

Your doctor will perform a range of imaging tests to begin the diagnosis process, which might include x-rays, CT scans and PET scans.
A biopsy will then be performed to confirm a diagnosis. A fine needle may be used to remove fluid and small amount of tissue from the tumor, or a core biopsy will be performed, to remove a small cylinder of tissue. The type of biopsy will depend on the results of the imaging test.
The tissue sample will then be examined in a laboratory to confirm the presence of cancer, and which type of sarcoma is present.

Treatment

The type of treatment you receive will depend on the type of soft tissue sarcoma you have, how advanced it is and its location. Other factors such as your overall health and age will also influence the type of treatment you receive. Treatments include:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Immunotherapies
• Targeted therapies
• Immunotherapies.

Program Caregivers

The Soft Tissue Sarcoma Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi consists of a multidisciplinary team of caregivers, including:

• Medical dermatologists
• Surgical dermatologists
• Dermatopathologists
• Medical oncologists
• Radiation oncologists
• Surgical oncologists
• Nurse specialists.