Spindle Cell Sarcoma

Posted on 25/01/2017 by admin — No Comments ↓

What is spindle cell sarcoma?

Spindle cell sarcoma is one type of soft tissue sarcoma. Sarcoma termed is used when the tumors are developed in muscle or bone and they are malignant or cancerous in nature.

The soft tissues like muscle, fat, fibrous tissues, nerves, deep skin tissues or blood vessels, which are seems as spindle shaped means long, narrow appearance under microscope, affected by sarcoma called spindle cell sarcoma. ⁽¹⁾

spindle cell sarcoma

Causes

When abnormal cell division arises among aggressively dividing cells, then usually soft tissue cells become spindle shaped. The cells of soft tissues exhibit as collagen strands with extended out nuclei during this abnormal type of cell division. In very rare cases, the normal cell division of connective tissues can form spindle sarcomas.

The clinical research suggested different possible factors involved in spindle cell sarcoma, which include genetic tendency, direct contact with radiation or definite carcinogenic chemicals, physical trauma, and inflammatory diseases. All these factors may trigger the rapid, aggressive cell proliferation involved in soft tissues. ^(2,4)

Symptoms

The symptoms of spindle cell sarcoma has been influenced by the location, size and the stage of malignancy of the sarcoma tumor. Therefore, the symptoms are not specific for all the cases. In some cases, it shows an ulcerated mass or an exophytic tumor on the expose part of the skin.

The spindle cell sarcoma involving the bones, which are present in the upper and lower limbs. The symptomatic diagnosis revealed that the severe pain involved on the affected area and severity is increased during night time. Inflammation and restricted movement commonly other occur symptoms. Along with these, exhaustion, tiredness, unexpected weight loss and fever are included symptoms.^(2,3)

Types of Spindle Cell Sarcoma

The typical cases of Spindle Cell Sarcoma are developed after 40 years of age, but it can occur in younger aged people and even some animals like cats and dogs has also probability to develop spindle cell sarcoma. Medical science has been discovered four different variations in the spindle cell sarcoma affecting the connective tissue. They are as follows:

Undifferentiated sarcoma of the bone

Bones are mainly involved in this type of sarcoma without having specific specialty. They are not involved other combinations of malignant cells present in another category of connective tissue, therefore they termed as undifferentiated sarcoma cells.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma

The is rarely occuring spindle shaped cell carcinoma, which affects upper and lower limbs. They mainly develop in middle aged individuals.

Fibrosarcoma

This type of Spindle Cell sarcoma involves the thigh bone

Leiomyosarcoma

The details of this type of Spindle Cell sarcoma are still unknown. ⁽²⁾

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of this spindle cell sarcoma is conducted by multiple tests, such as X-ray, MRI scan, bone scan and biopsy.

In spindle cell sarcoma, cells present in the connective tissue beneath the skin, adjacent areas of the organs, and the muscles begin to create tiny bumps leading to progression of tumor. In initial stage, the state of the disease is restricted to single exacting site.

But, in advance stage, when the metastasis appear in the cells, the extent of disease is occurring with involving large areas of the body and affected parts are developed similar types of symptoms. Therefore, to assess the cause of the symptoms, a small section of the developed tumor cells is collected for biopsy.

In a biopsy, the test is conducted in the clinical lab and the sample is tested under the microscope for determination of the cause of the spreading symptoms. If the histological study of the cell sample demonstrates the findings of the spindle shaped cells with malignancy, then it confirms the incidence of the spindle cell sarcoma.^{(2, 4)}

Treatment

The various treatment modalities of spindle cell sarcoma comprise surgery , radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

In some cases, amputation of the involved part is needed due to extension of malignancy, which creates severe harms to associated tissues. ^(2,4,5)

Prognosis

The treatment, prognosis is better if the diagnosis is conducted and detected the disease in the early stage. The surgical intervention can successfully remove the tumor. But in advance stage, the prognosis of the treatment becomes narrow, as the vital organ like kidney, lungs or liver may affected. The survival rate is a maximum five years for advance stage spindle cell sarcoma. ^(2,5)

References

Sarcoma: Adult Soft Tissue Cancer (2016); American Cancer society; Retrieve from: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003138-pdf.pdf
What are the Symptoms of Spindle Cell Sarcoma? Retrieve from: http://www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-are-symptoms-spindle-cell-sarcoma
Symptoms of Spindle cell carcinoma; Retrieve from: http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/s/spindle_cell_carcinoma/symptoms.htm
Samuel W. Vernick, James R. Lisa, (2016); Spindle cell carcinoma of the Thigh: A Case Report; Retrieve from: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/amjcancer/16/2/419.full.pdf
Yoshinari Goto, Shigeto Kawauchi, Koichiro Ihara, Kenzo Ikemoto, Ritsuko Ohi, Shinya Kawai and Kohsuke Sasaki (2003); The prognosis in spindle-cell sarcoma depends on the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 and cyclin E; Cancer Sci: Vol. 94, no. 5, Page: 412–417; Retrieve from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1349-7006.2003.tb01456.x/pdf

Spindle Cell Sarcoma

What is spindle cell sarcoma?

Causes

Symptoms