Friday, 28 June, 2024
Sarcoma Awareness Month - July 2024
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July is International Sarcoma Awareness Month, a time dedicated to shedding light on this rare group of cancers. Despite their rarity, the impact of sarcomas on patients and their families is profound, making awareness and education crucial.
There are approximately 300 new diagnoses of sarcomas each year. Our clinical site, St Vincent's University Hospital, is a nationally designated centre for sarcoma and treats over half of all patients in Ireland.
What is Sarcoma?
Sarcomas are a diverse group of cancers originating in the bones and soft tissues, including muscles, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and tendons. There are over 70 different subtypes of sarcoma, broadly classified into two categories: bone sarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas.
Bone Sarcomas: These cancers start in the bones. Common types include osteosarcoma, which often affects the long bones in the arms and legs, and Ewing sarcoma, which can start in the bones or in the soft tissue around the bones.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas: These develop in the connective tissues, with common types including liposarcoma (fat tissue), leiomyosarcoma (smooth muscle tissue), and synovial sarcoma (tissues around joints).
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Sarcomas can be challenging to diagnose because their symptoms often resemble those of more common, benign conditions. Some common signs include:
- Lumps: A lump that can be felt through the skin
- Bone pain: As the tumour grows, it may press against nerves or muscles, causing pain.
- Limited Range of Motion: Tumours near joints may cause stiffness or restricted movement.
- Unexplained Fractures: In cases of bone sarcoma, bones may weaken and break more easily.
Diagnosis typically involves a combination of imaging tests (such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs) and biopsy procedures to examine the tumour tissue.
Treatment Options
Treatment for sarcoma depends on the type, location, and stage of the cancer. Surgery is the primary treatment for most sarcoma, the aim of which is to remove the cancer completely while preserving as much function as possible. However radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also used to shrink sarcomas in preparation for surgery or as a primary treatment itself.
Chemotherapy is used for certain types of sarcoma, especially when the sarcoma has spread to other parts of the body.
New treatments are constantly being investigated for sarcomas, including the Median-Ph2 INBRX-109 trial. This trial, open at St Vincent's University Hospital is testing a treatment called INBRX-109 for chondrosarcoma, a type of bone sarcoma that starts in the cartilage cells. The study will compare INBRX-109 to a placebo in patients at any stage of treatment.
For details of this trial, and all open studies at the UCD Cancer Trials Cluster, see our 'Open Studies' page.