Editing Sarcoma (section)

{{Short description|Cancer originating in connective tissue}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox medical condition (new)
| name            = Sarcoma
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| synonyms        = Sarcomas, sarcomata
| image           = Nibib 030207 105309 sarcoma.jpg
| caption         = [[Optical coherence tomography]] (OCT) image of a sarcoma
| field           = [[Oncology]]
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A '''sarcoma''' is a rare type of cancer that arises from [[Cell (biology)|cells]] of [[mesenchyme|mesenchymal]] origin.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yang J, Ren Z, Du X, Hao M, Zhou W | title = The role of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells in sarcoma: update and dispute | journal = Stem Cell Investigation | volume = 1 | pages = 18 | date = 2014-10-27 | pmid = 27358864 | pmc = 4923508 | doi = 10.3978/j.issn.2306-9759.2014.10.01 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Originating from [[Mesenchyme|mesenchymal]] cells means that sarcomas are cancers of [[Connective tissue|connective tissues]] such as [[cancellous bone|bone]], [[cartilage]], [[muscle]], [[Body fat|fat]], or [[Blood vessel|vascular]] tissues.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> 

Sarcomas are one of five different [[List of cancer types|types of cancer]], classified by the [[list of distinct cell types in the adult human body|cell type]] from which they originate.<ref name="def">{{cite web |date=17 September 2007 |title=Defining Cancer |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/cancerlibrary/what-is-cancer |access-date=10 June 2014 |website=National Cancer Institute}}</ref> While there are five types under this category, sarcomas are most frequently contrasted with [[Carcinoma|carcinomas]] which are much more common. Sarcomas are quite rare, making up about 1% of all adult cancer diagnoses and 15% of childhood cancer diagnoses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarcoma: What it Is, Symptoms & Treatment |url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17934-sarcoma |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250320044850/https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17934-sarcoma |archive-date=2025-03-20 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Cleveland Clinic |language=en}}</ref>

There are many subtypes of sarcoma, which are classified based on the specific tissue and type of cell from which the tumor originates.<ref name=":0" /> Common examples of sarcoma include [[liposarcoma]], [[leiomyosarcoma]], and [[osteosarcoma]]. Sarcomas are ''primary'' connective tissue tumors, meaning that they arise in connective tissues.<ref name=":1" /> This is in contrast to ''secondary'' (or "[[Metastasis|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cancer.gov/types/metastatic-cancer|title=Metastatic Cancer|date=2015-05-12|website=National Cancer Institute|language=en|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref>  

The word ''sarcoma'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{Lang|grc|σάρκωμα}} {{Lang|grc-latn|sarkōma}} 'fleshy excrescence or substance', itself from [[wikt:σάρξ|σάρξ]] {{Lang|grc-latn|sarx}} meaning 'flesh'.<ref>{{LSJ|sa/rkwma|σάρκωμα}}, {{LSJ|sa/rc|σάρξ|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcoma|title=Definition of SARCOMA|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{OEtymD|sarcoma}}</ref>