Soft tissue sarcomas 

A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcomas can arise in any of these types of tissues. As a result, there are many subtypes of sarcoma, which are classified based on the specific tissue and type of cell from which the tumor originates. Sarcomas are primary connective tissue tumors, meaning that they arise in connective tissues. This is in contrast to secondary (or "metastatic") connective tissue tumors, which occur when a cancer from elsewhere in the body (such as the lungs, breast tissue or prostate) spreads to the connective tissue. The word sarcoma is derived from the Greek sarkōma "fleshy excrescence or substance", itself from sarx meaning "flesh

Causes and risk factors

Most soft tissue sarcomas arise from what doctors call "sporadic" (or random) genetic mutations within an affected person's cells. Nevertheless, there are certain risk factors associated with an increased risk of developing soft tissue sarcoma. Previous exposure to ionizing radiation is one such risk factor. Exposure to vinyl chloride Arsenic and Thorotrast all are associated with an increased risk of angiosarcoma. Lymphedema, such as that resulting from certain types of breast cancer treatment, also is a risk factor for development of angiosarcoma. As with bone sarcomas, certain inherited genetic syndromes also are associated with an increased risk of developing soft tissue sarcoma, including Li-Fraumeni syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, neurofibromatosis type 1, and heritable RB1 gene mutations.  Kaposi's sarcoma is caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

Symptoms may also include one or more of the following:

• a lump in one testis which may or may not be painful
• sharp pain or a dull ache in the lower abdomen or scrotum
• a feeling often described as "heaviness" in the scrotum^[15]
• firmness of the testicle^[15]
• breast enlargement (gynecomastia) from hormonal effects of β-hCG
• low back pain (lumbago) due to the cancer spreading to the lymph nodes along the back

It is not very common for testicular cancer to spread to other organs, apart from the lungs. If it has, however, the following symptoms may be present:

Regards

Amalia Azzariti

Managing Editor

Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research