Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the connective tissue which includes muscle, bone, nerves, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels fibrous and fatty tissue.
About 3800 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK which is approximately 1% of all cancer diagnoses.
There are about 100 different types of sarcoma but they fall into three main types.
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Primary bone sarcoma
- GIST (gastro-intestinal stromal tumours) a soft tissue sarcoma found in the stomach and intestines.
Sarcomas can affect any part of the body where you have connective tissue inside and out.
The most common sites are the arms, legs and trunk but you can also develop them behind the abdomen (retroperitoneal sarcomas) and in the female reproductive system.
