Spindle cell sarcoma is a type of
connective tissue
Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, a group of cells that are similar in structure, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesod ...
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. The tumors generally begin in layers of
connective tissue
Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, a group of cells that are similar in structure, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesod ...
, as found under the skin, between muscles, and surrounding organs, and will generally start as a small, inflamed lump, which grows in size. At first, the lump is, small in size, as the tumor exists in
stage 1
Stage, stages, or staging may refer to:
Arts and media Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...
, and will not necessarily expand beyond its
encapsulated form. However, it may develop cancerous traits that can only be detected through microscopic examination or cell-level molecular analysis. As such, at Stage 1, the tumor is usually treated by excision, which includes
wide margins of healthy-looking tissue, followed by thorough biopsy, and additional excision, if necessary. The prognosis for a stage 1 tumor excision is usually fairly optimistic, but if the tumor progresses to levels 2 and 3, prognosis worsens, due to tumor cells' likely having spread to other parts of the body, including nearby healthy tissues, or to system-wide locations that include the lungs, kidneys, and liver. In these cases, prognosis is grim and
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
and
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...
are the only methods of controlling the cancer.
A variety of factors influence the incidence of spindle cell sarcoma, including genetic predisposition, but it may also be caused by a combination of other factors, including injury and inflammation in patients who are already thought to be predisposed to such tumors. Normal spindle cells are a naturally occurring part of the body's response to injury. In response to an injury, infection, or other immune response, the spindle cells of connective tissue will begin dividing to heal the affected area; if the tissue is predisposed to spindle cell cancer, the high cellular turnover may result in a cell mutating, becoming cancerous, and forming a tumor.
See also
*
Spindle cell carcinoma
Spindle cell carcinoma is a type of cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs
In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the ...
External links
Spindle cell sarcomaentry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
Sarcoma
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