Sarcoma Information
Sarcomas are rare malignant (cancerous) tumours which affect bone, cartilage or soft tissues (muscle, nerves and fat).
About 200 people are diagnosed each year in Ireland with some type of sarcoma.
What is sarcoma?
There are numerous subtypes of sarcoma, each originating from a different type of mesenchymal cell (the connective tissues) in the body. The exact number of subtypes varies depending on the classification system used and on ongoing research, but the most commonly encountered types are described on this page.
Sarcomas are broadly grouped by where they arise — in the soft tissues (such as muscle, fat, blood vessels, tendons and nerves) or in bone. Some further types, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumours and uterine sarcomas, are grouped by the organ or site they affect.
Because sarcomas are rare and complex cancers, they should be managed by specialist teams in high-volume centres. The information below is intended as a general guide only and is not a substitute for advice from your own medical team.
Soft tissue sarcoma
There are many different types of sarcoma, affecting different parts of the body in different ways.
Doctors can now identify certain gene changes that happen with different types of sarcoma. Knowing about gene changes may help doctors to describe or diagnose some sarcoma types. It may also help to find the best treatments.
Bone sarcoma
Many cancers that start in the bone (primary bone cancers) are sarcomas.
Cancer can also spread to the bone from other parts of your body. This is called secondary or metastatic cancer.