FAT CANCER LIPOSARCOMA TREATMENT INFORMATION

What Are the Normal Soft Tissues?

The human body is made up of individual"cells", of which there are many various kinds.
Initially, when the father's sperm and mother's egg join to form a fertilized egg, each cell in the
fledgling human "embryo" is exactly the same. As the embryo's cells divide, the genetic material
within them, called "DNA", instructs certain cells to "specialize"-- that is become heart cells,
lung cells, bone cells, brain cells, etc. This process of "specialization" is called "differentiation",
and accounts for the wide variety of cells making up adults. The early embryo separates cells into
3 basic distinctions-- cells for making skin, brain and nerves (ectoderm), cells for making the
organs (endoderm), and cells cells for making bone, flesh and blood (mesoderm). However,
ultimately the "mesoderm" cells are found in all parts of the growing human. Certain specialized
cells are programed to form "tissues", which are a collection of cells for a certain purpose.
Examples of tissues include skin, muscle, fat, bone, blood and cartilage. The tissues are joined in
complex patterns to form"organs", which contain many types of cells. For instance, the ear is an
organ which contains bone (the "ossicles"), muscle fibers, nerves, fat, cartilage and skin, all
precisely organized. Organs are further arranged into "organ systems" . The ear must be properly
connected to another organ, the brain, to function. Other examples of organ systems include the
skeletal, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems. Still, as complex as the systems become,
they still are made of single cells as the smallest unit of "life".

The mature human body contains organs, bones, flesh, and blood, and we said that each of these
complex structures are formed from simpler tissues. The"soft tissues" of the body are basically
it's flesh -- formed of muscles, fat, cartilage, and fibrous tissues. These tissues are not only found
as the"middle layer" (mesoderm) between the skin and bone, but are also a part of many internal
organs, such as the stomach, bladder, and uterus, and bone. Thus, a disease of the "soft tissues"
can actually arise almost anywhere in the body! This is because these basic tissues are the
building blocks of nearly all of humans "parts". While the bone is initially from the mesoderm
flesh (it starts out as cartilage), as it becomes calcified it is no longer considered a "soft tissue"
(after all it is hard!). Thus, diseases, including cancer, of bone a classified separately from "soft
tissue" diseases, even though the same tissues may be involved . Skin is also classified separately
since it arises from a different area of the developing embyro (ectoderm), along with the nerves
and brain.

Thus, the basic soft tissues making flesh in the adult are the muscle, fat, fibrous tissues
("sinews"), cartilage, and blood vessels. To understand disease of these, we must look at them on
their cellular level. There are actually three types of muscle cells in the body, several types of
fibrous cell, but only one type of fat and cartilage cell. The blood vessels are made up of layers
of various types of cells. For muscle cells, there are "intercalated" heart cells (not discussed here)
"striated" skeletal muscle cells, and"smooth" organ muscle cells.

You can see the range of crucial soft tissues in the body, and understanding the above prefixes
allows one to categorize the diseases that arise from these "mesechymal" cells. It is not
uncommon for more that one type of cell to be involved with a disease process, so sometimes the
names are conjoined together to describe the cells seen under the microscope. Examples include
"Chondrofibro", "Osteochondro" and "Lipofibro"; they are all "mesenchymal" (middle embryo
layer) diseases.

What is Soft Tissue Cancer?

The "mesenchymal" or "soft tissues", like all tissues, are made up of individual cells. Normally,
cells within the forming body divide and grow very rapidly in the womb, in early childhood, and
through puberty. In adulthood, new cells are only formed to replace those which have died from
injury, old age or disease. The division of cells to produce new ones is under tight control by the
"genes" within each cell. These genes are made up of DNA, and if it becomes damaged, that cell
may start dividing out of control.

Soft Tissue Cancer starts in a single cell which has become abnormal. This cells produces
millions, and eventually billions, of copies of itself. The copies are called"clones" . These clones
fail to function as normal body tissue, but instead divert resources from healthy cells to fuel their
own growth. When there are about 1 billion cells, they form a clump, or "tumor" 1/2 inch across.
A "tumor" merely means a swelling, it can be caused by infection, inflammation, cancer or
whatever. If a tumor can only grow in it's local area (even very large) but does not have the
capacity to spread to distant body areas, it is called"benign" and is not cancer. If, however, the
tumor has the ability to spread to distant body areas, it is called "malignant" and this is cancer.
The actual process of spread is called"metastasis", and can occur to any area of the body.

For benign Soft Tissue tumors, they are commonly given the suffix "oma" . The most common
types of benign tumor are "Lipoma " (from fat), "Leiomyoma " (from smooth muscle) and
"Fibroma " (from fibrous tissue). These benign tumors may grow very large, but they will
never"metastasize" (spread distantly) and so are not considered "cancer". Simply removing them
surgically should be curative, and if surgery is not practical then radiation therapy will often
shrink them. Unless they are disturbing body function or cosmetic appearance, they often require
NO THERAPY.

For malignant Soft Tissue tumors, they are commonly given the suffix"sarcoma" .This means a
cancer that has arisen from the mesenchymal tissue, as opposed to "carcinomas", which develop
from the body's lining tissues and organs. Any tumor that is called a "sarcoma" is cancerous, but
not all cancerous mesenchymal tumors end with "sarcoma" . However, the common ones do, and
include "Liposarcoma" (from fat cells), "Rhabdomyosarcoma" (from skeletal muscle cells),
"Leiomyosarcoma" (from smooth muscle cells), "Fibrosarcoma" (from fibrous cells) and
"Chondrosarcoma" (from cartilage cells). "Osteosarcoma" is the most common bone cancer, but
is not considered a"Soft Tissue Sarcoma" and is discussed as a "Primary Bone Tumor".

Other, rarer types of Soft Tissue Sarcoma (which may or may not have the word "sarcoma" in
them) include "Angiosarcoma" (divided into Hemangiosarcoma and Lymphangiosarcoma-- from
blood or lymph vessels),"Hemangiopericytoma" (also from a blood vessel cell), "Mesothelioma "
(from abdominal or lung linings),"Synovial Sarcoma" (from joint linings), "Neurofibrosarcoma"
(from nerve sheaths),"Kaposi's Sarcoma (origin uncertain) and "Malignant Fibrous
Histioctyoma" (from fibrous tissue). Some of the above are more aggressive than others, but they
are all cancer!

How Common is Soft Tissue Sarcoma?

Each year in there about 8,000 new cases of "Soft Tissue Sarcoma" in the United States, which
cause approximately 2,500 deaths per year. Thus, they represent ~1% of all new cancers. Soft
Tissue Sarcoma is about 3 times more common than Bone Sarcoma. There are two "peaks" of
most common patient age, one in childhood at 10 years old and the other in 40 year old adults.
Thus Sarcomas are unlike the other major type of cancer, "Carcinomas" (e.g. breast, lung,
prostate, colo-rectal) which all tend to get more likely as we age. Males and Females are overall
equally affected by Sarcomas. In children, the most common type of Soft Tissue Sarcoma is
"Rhabdomyosarcoma" (from skeletal muscle cells), which occur mostly in the Head and Neck
areas. In adults, the most common type is now"Fibrosarcoma" or"Malignant Fibrous
Histiocytoma", which tends to occur in the trunk or extremities. In contrast to childhood cases,
the least common area for adult sarcomas is in the Head and Neck area. Overall, the number of
new cases of Soft Tissue Sarcoma has remained stable for the past 3 decades.

The common underlying factor is damage to "DNA" which causes the affected cell to become
"transformed" -- that is lose control over it's division. Cancer is ultimately a disease of the DNA!
The DNA is packed into thousands of "genes", which are themselves located upon the 48
"chromosomes" (46 general plus 2 sex chromosomes) that all healthy humans have in every cell.
The chromosomes become visible under an ordinary light microscope when cells divide, and
nearly every case of Sarcoma shows chromosome damage. This damage usually includes pieces
missing from chromosomes ("deletions"), or even parts of one chromosome getting stuck onto
another ("translocations"). Overall, anything which can damage DNA, the fundamental genetic
material, will increase the risk of a cell turning cancerous. This damage may be"latent", meaning
a cancer may arise many years or decades after the damage occurs.

Can Sarcomas Be Prevented?

There is no sure way to prevent sarcomas. It is always a good idea to avoid unnecessary exposure
to potential carcinogens and avoid unwarranted X-rays. This is especially true for patients with
family susceptibility to cancers, or who actually have genetic diseases. If a worrisome sign or
symptom arises (see below) it should be evaluated promptly, and not ascribed to some benign
process without proof. Eating a diet with enough vitamin C ("Ascorbic Acid") is important for
proper maintenance and healing of soft tissues. Vitamin C deficiency results in a breakdown of
the soft tissues ("scurvy"), since it is essential for cross-linking their crucial collagen proteins.
However, taking too much can also be harmful by causing the blood to become too acidic
("ascorbic acidemia"). A standard supplement multi-vitamin is well advised.
For all of it's negative attention, fat is a wonderfully designed organ which provides the body
which helps form our shape, keep our temperature regulated, make hormones and store calories
for future use. Usually fat (except too much of it!) does not give us any problems. Most swelling
in fat are not cancer, but benign tumors called "lipomas" which are not dangerous. Rarely a
cancer, called "liposarcoma", arises from a single abnormal fat ("adipose") cell.

It is crucial to get prompt diagnosis and proper treatment for a Fat Cancer problem. These type of
cancers grow locally and then tend to spread to the lungs. Understanding your options for dealing
with a Fat Cancer problem will give you the peace of mind knowing you have done everything
possible for a happy outcome.

CancerGroup's material explains, in plain English, the definition, types, frequency, risk factors,
symptoms, evaluation, historic and latest effective treatment for Fat Cancers. We tell you
everything you must know to help you deal effectively with a Fat Cancer problem.