Information on Liposarcoma

Oct 1
07:18

2008

Juliet Cohen

Juliet Cohen

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Liposarcomas usually starts as a painless, swelling in the soft, non-bony, tissues. Signs of Liposarcoma weight loss and emaciation and abdominal pain.

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Liposarcoma also called is soft tissue sarcomas. Liposarcoma is malignant tumor that develops in fat cells in deep soft tissues such as those in the thighs or in the retroperitoneum. They are typically large,Information on Liposarcoma Articles bulky tumors, which tend to have multiple smaller satellites extending beyond the main confines of the tumor. It is most often found in the abdominal cavity or extremities, usually the thigh or upper arm, but they can be found anywhere in the body.

Liposarcoma tumors may also squash the kidney or ureter leading to kidney failure.They varies from slow growing to quite rapidly growing. There are many different types of liposarcoma. Atypical lipomatous tumors or grade 1 or well-differentiated liposarcoma, which is seen most frequently in the abdomen and can grow to a large size without very little likelihood of any spread elsewhere. Pleomorphic liposarcoma or differentiated or high-grade liposarcoma, which can occur in the abdomen or the limbs and grows more quickly and behaves more aggressively with quite a high chance of spread to the lungs.

Myxoid liposarcoma, which is commonest in the abdomen and is intermediate between the other two types in terms of its behaviour with a tendency to spread to other fatty tissue sites in the abdomen and around the spine rather than the lungs. The cause of soft tissue sarcomas has indicated that genetic alterations may play a role. A small number of families that contain several members of one generation who have developed soft tissue sarcomas. In addition, limited studies have shown a possible link between soft tissue sarcomas and the development of other types of cancer.

Certain inherited diseases are also related with an increased risk of developing soft tissue sarcomas. These comprise people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome or neurofibromatosis. For some soft tissue tumors, there seems to be an association with an Epstein-Barr virus infection. Treatment options will vary greatly, depending on your child's individual situation. Your child's physician and other members of your care team will discuss these with you in-depth.  Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for most soft tissue sarcomas, particularly for liposarcoma in children, which tends to be locally aggressive.