Signs and symptoms of sarcoma
Different sarcomas in different tissues have varied signs and symptoms, but the common symptoms in almost every malignancy are sudden weight loss, anorexia, fatigue, cachexia, immune deficiency and anemia.
Osteosarcoma patients have bone pain as the most predominant symptom, especially if bone masses keep on increasing their size. They tend to suffer pathological fractures with very small traumas. Chondrosarcoma is more common after age 40. It features aggressive enlarging masses that are painful and will be located in the pelvis, shoulder and ribs. Both chondrosarcoma and osteosarcoma can undergo hematogenous spread and may settle in the lungs and other organs, causing complications and symptoms according to the area of metastasis. Ewing sarcoma, which is also a malignant bone tumor, features painful enlarging masses in the diaphysis of tubular long bones and they may also appear on flat bones. They have similar symptoms to osteosarcoma.
Liposarcoma is more common between 40 and 60 years. They cause compression symptoms because they are more common in retroperitoneum. In many cases, they can cause intestinal obstruction leading to constipation, and abdominal pain. Cases of superficial liposarcoma cause swelling under the skin, numbness and changes in color.
Fibrosarcoma occurs in adult life and mostly appears in the retroperitoneum, the deep tissue of the thigh and the knee. Fibrosarcoma causes compression symptoms when it is present in the abdomen. In the thigh and knee, it causes painful or painless swelling under the skin.
Leiomyosarcomas very rare in the uterine smooth muscle layer, and feature abdominal swelling, abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and other menstrual and reproduction-related problems. They usually appear in the retroperitoneal and cutaneous smooth muscles.
Synovial sarcomas occur in the knee joint, mostly. Kaposi sarcoma initially present as subcutaneous swellings, then it spreads to the lymph nodes, causing lymphadenopathy. Angiosarcomas are aggressive tumors and are usually diagnosed after their metastasis; they can be found as cardiac angiosarcomas and hepatic angiosarcomas, causing organ-specific symptoms. Tumors in the heart can produce valve obstruction in the heart and embolization, which can lead to very severe conditions such as pulmonary infarct and stroke.
Mesothelioma can cause respiratory peritoneal and cardiac symptoms, according to its location. It can cause chest pain, breathlessness, compression symptoms, pleural effusion or pericardial effusion. Meningioma features symptoms such as vision problems, hearing problems, dysphagia, paresis, loss of sensory function, confusion, apathy diplopia, and papilledema. Meningiomas can produce localized symptoms such as is weakness, numbness, progressive loss of function, and loss of sensation in different parts of the body, according to the location of the lesion.
For example, if the tumor is near or at the cerebellopontine angle, it can lead to numbness, and weakness of facial muscles leading to difficulty in mastication. Involvement of the cranial nerve number 12 can lead to atrophy of the tongue, which can be either unilateral or bilateral.
Lymphoma and leukemia are characterized by anemia, immune deficiencies (a higher risk of infections), bleeding tendencies, itching, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, drenching night swears and swelling of the lymph nodes. As it happens in many other types of malignancies, tumors can form secondary masses away from the primary tumor and cause symptoms related to the affected organ. The most common sites of metastasis are the lungs, bones thyroid, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. As the stage of the malignancy advances, the heath of the patient deteriorates and death maybe the ultimate result in very aggressive and metastatic tumor.