Bone and Soft Tissue Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Sarcoma

What is Sarcoma?

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The American Cancer Society estimates that 2,380 people in the United States will be diagnosed with bone cancer, or sarcoma, in 2008. Sarcomas are cancerous tumors found in the connective tissues. The connective tissues include:

fat
muscle
blood vessels
deep skin tissues
nerves
bones
cartilage

The term sarcoma comes from a Greek word meaning fleshy growth.

Sarcomas fall into two groups – bone tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. Bone tumors are found in the cartilage and bone, which are made up of hard (compact), spongy and smooth tissue. Soft tissue sarcomas occur in the muscles, fat, blood vessels, tendons, fibrous tissue

This page was last updated on: September 21, 2009.