Long Term Prognosis of Sarcoma Cancer

The medical community has put a lot of time, effort and research into developing ways of improving the survival rates of sarcoma cancer patients. Unfortunately all these efforts have not had any quantifiable effect on survival rates. Sarcoma cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer with the lowest long-term survival rates after treatment.

Prevalent in both adults and children, sarcoma related cancers can strike without warning and can affect any part of the body. The bulk of sarcoma cancer tumors grow in the body’s soft tissues and bones. 60% of sarcoma cancers originate at the extremities (hands, feet, etc), 30% in the abdomen and the remaining 10% strikes in the neck and head. Thankfully, sarcoma related cancers are relatively rare, with only 1% of all adult cases being sarcoma related. Unfortunately 15% of all cancers diagnosed in children turn out to be sarcoma related.

Soft tissue sarcoma is the most common form of the cancer, developing in the body’s soft connective tissues. Soft tissue sarcoma can naturally occur in any part of the body and strike without warning.

Survival rates for sarcoma cancers are measured by the number of patients who have survived beyond the first five years of being diagnosed, versus those who didn’t make it. On average the 5 year survival rate of sarcoma cancer patients is at 50%, meaning 1 out of every 2 patients diagnosed with sarcoma cancer will survive for more than 5 years with proper treatment and care.

It should be pointed out that these dismal survival rates from sarcoma related cancers are not accepted by all researchers, as certain types of sarcoma are much more deadly than others.

If sarcoma cancer is diagnosed and treated early enough – the first stage of the disease, 5 year survival rates can be as high as 83%. The treatment for sarcoma cancer at this early stage is normally comprised of surgery to remove the infected tissue followed by repeated bouts of chemotherapy. This type of treatment is effective at the cancer’s early stages because the cancer cells are localized in a single area and has not had the chance to spread through the rest of the body.

Once the sarcoma starts spreading and infecting the bodies other healthy cells the survival rates dip quite a bit. Patients in the final stages of sarcoma cancer have only a 12.5% chance of survival into the next 5 five years.

One encouraging statistic is that more than half the cases of sarcoma related cancers are diagnosed in the earliest stages. Advances in medical technology and a greater awareness have lead to earlier detection and higher survival rates among victims of sarcoma cancer.