# Sarcoma (tissue type)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/sarcoma-type/  
OnCo record `sarcoma-type` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Cancer of the body's connective and supporting tissues: bone, muscle, fat, cartilage, blood vessels, fibrous tissue. Rare (about 1% of adult cancers) but relatively common in children.

## Summary

Sarcomas come from mesenchymal cells rather than the epithelial lining cells that give rise to carcinomas, and there are more than seventy subtypes, often defined by a specific gene fusion (EWSR1-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma, SS18-SSX in synovial sarcoma) or by a single driver (KIT in GIST). They are treated in specialist centres by surgery and radiotherapy, with chemotherapy for the more aggressive types; GIST was one of the first solid tumours transformed by a targeted drug (imatinib), and fusion-defined sarcomas are natural candidates for precision approaches. Because they are rare and diverse, sarcomas depend heavily on referral networks, registries and international trials.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: sarcomas; soft-tissue sarcoma; soft tissue sarcoma; bone sarcoma; connective tissue cancer; mesenchymal; bone sarcomas; soft-tissue sarcomas

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcoma
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcoma

## Connected records

- terms: [Carcinoma](https://onco.cc/terms/carcinoma/), [Gene fusion](https://onco.cc/terms/gene-fusion/), [Lymphoma (tissue type)](https://onco.cc/terms/lymphoma-type/), [Rare cancers](https://onco.cc/terms/rare-cancers/)
- cancers: [Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST)](https://onco.cc/cancers/sarcoma/)
- targets: [KIT](https://onco.cc/targets/kit/)
- drugs: [Imatinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/imatinib/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/sarcoma-type.json