Sarcoma research

Sarcomas are uncommon cancers that can affect any part of the body, on the inside or outside, including muscle, bone, tendons, blood vessels and fatty tissues. 15 people are diagnosed with sarcoma every day in the UK.

Sarcomas commonly affect the arms, legs and trunk. They also appear in the stomach and instestines, behind the abdomen and in the female reproductive system.

Sarcomas can be split into two main categories: bone sarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas.

Bone sarcomas

Bone sarcomas affect approximately 670 people in the UK each year.Bone sarcoma can affect any bone in the body but the most common area it affects is the legs. The four most common types of bone sarcoma are: Condrosarcoma; Osteosarcoma; Chordoma and Ewing’s sarcoma.

At CCC we are currently recruiting to clinical trials that are investigating treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma. Ewing’s sarcoma makes up approximately 14% of all bone sarcoma diagnoses. It most commonly affects teenagers and young adults in the pelvis, thigh bone and shin bone.

Chemotherapy is the first treatment method for Ewing’s sarcoma and is being used in clinical trials at CCC. It is sometimes used before surgery to reduce the size of the tumour so it can be removed. It can also be used after surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells in the tumour area.

For more information about bone sarcomas visit https://sarcoma.org.uk/sarcoma-types/bone-sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas

Soft tissue sarcomas develop in supporting or connective tissue such as the muscle, nerves, tendons, blood vessels and fatty and fibrous tissues.

The most common types of soft tissue sarcoma are:

  • Leiomyosarcoma
  • Fibroblastic sarcoma
  • Liposarcoma
  • Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST)
  • Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS)
  • Angiosarcoma
  • Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST)
  • Synovial sarcoma
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma

At CCC we are currently running a clinical trial investigating the treatment of liposarcoma with chemotherapy. Liposarcoma develops from the fat cells found all over the body.

For more information about soft tissue sarcoma visit https://sarcoma.org.uk/sarcoma-types/soft-tissue-s...