Soft tissue sarcoma classification

Template:Soft tissue sarcoma Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Classification

Tables

Table 1: Major Types of Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Adults

Tissue of Origin	Type of Cancer	Usual Location in the Body
Fibrous tissue	Fibrosarcoma	Arms, legs, trunk
	Malignant fibrous histiocytoma	Legs
	Dermatofibrosarcoma	Trunk
Fat	Liposarcoma	Arms, legs, trunk
Muscle Striated muscle Smooth muscle	Rhabdomyosarcoma Leiomyosarcoma	Arms, legs Uterus, digestive tract
Blood vessels	Hemangiosarcoma	Arms, legs, trunk
	Kaposi's sarcoma	Legs, trunk
Lymph vessels	Lymphangiosarcoma	Arms
Synovial tissue (linings of joint cavities, tendon sheaths)	Synovial sarcoma	Legs
Peripheral nerves	Neurofibrosarcoma	Arms, legs, trunk
Cartilage and bone-forming tissue	Extraskeletal chondrosarcoma	Legs
	Extraskeletal osteosarcoma	Legs, trunk (not involving the bone)

Table 2: Major Types of Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Children

Tissue of Origin	Type of Cancer	Usual Location in the Body	Most common ages
Muscle
Striated muscle	Rhabdomyosarcoma
	Embryonal	Head and neck, genitourinary tract	Infant–4
	Alveolar soft part sarcoma	Arms, legs, head, and neck	Infant–19
Smooth muscle	Leiomyosarcoma	Trunk	15–19
Fibrous tissue	Fibrosarcoma	Arms and legs	15–19
	Malignant fibrous histiocytoma	Legs	15–19
	Dermatofibrosarcoma	Trunk	15–19
Fat	Liposarcoma	Arms and Legs	15–19
Blood vessels	Infantile hemangio- pericytoma	Arms, legs, trunk, head, and neck	Infant–4
Synovial tissue (linings of joint cavities, tendon sheaths)	Synovial sarcoma	Legs, arms, and trunk	15–19
Peripheral nerves	Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (also called neurofibrosarcomas, malignant schwannomas, and neurogenic sarcomas)	Arms, legs, and trunk	15–19
Muscular nerves	Alveolar soft part sarcoma	Arms and legs	Infant–19
Cartilage and bone-forming tissue	Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma	Legs	10–14
	Extraskeletal mesenchymal	Legs	10–14

An earlier version of this article was taken from the United States National Cancer Center's Cancer Information Service.