A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or other structural tissues, and sarcomas can arise in any of these types of tissues. As a result, there are many subtypes of sarcoma, which are classified based on the specific tissue and type of cell from which the tumor originates.
Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal or ectodermal germ layer during embryogenesis.
Fibrosarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal tumour derived from fibrous connective tissue and characterized by the presence of immature proliferating fibroblasts or undifferentiated anaplastic spindle cells in a storiform pattern. Fibrosarcomas mainly arise in people between the ages of 25 and 79. It originates in fibrous tissues of the bone and invades long or flat bones such as the femur, tibia, and mandible. It also involves the periosteum and overlying muscle.
A synovial sarcoma is a rare form of cancer which occurs primarily in the extremities of the arms or legs, often in proximity to joint capsules and tendon sheaths. It is a type of soft-tissue sarcoma.
The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a domain-specific extension of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems for tumor diseases. This classification is widely used by cancer registries.
The Gleason grading system is used to help evaluate the prognosis of men with prostate cancer using samples from a prostate biopsy. Together with other parameters, it is incorporated into a strategy of prostate cancer staging which predicts prognosis and helps guide therapy. A Gleason score is given to prostate cancer based upon its microscopic appearance.
A malignant mixed Müllerian tumor, also known as malignant mixed mesodermal tumor (MMMT) is a cancer found in the uterus, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes and other parts of the body that contains both carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. It is divided into two types, homologous and a heterologous type. MMMT account for between two and five percent of all tumors derived from the body of the uterus, and are found predominantly in postmenopausal women with an average age of 66 years. Risk factors are similar to those of adenocarcinomas and include obesity, exogenous estrogen therapies, and nulliparity. Less well-understood but potential risk factors include tamoxifen therapy and pelvic irradiation.
Neprilysin is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MME gene. Neprilysin is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease that cleaves peptides at the amino side of hydrophobic residues and inactivates several peptide hormones including glucagon, enkephalins, substance P, neurotensin, oxytocin, and bradykinin. It also degrades the amyloid beta peptide whose abnormal folding and aggregation in neural tissue has been implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Synthesized as a membrane-bound protein, the neprilysin ectodomain is released into the extracellular domain after it has been transported from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface.
Metaplastic carcinoma, otherwise known as metaplastic breast cancer (MBC), is a heterogeneous group of cancers that exhibit varied patterns of metaplasia and differentiation along multiple cell lines. This rare and aggressive form of breast cancer is characterized as being composed of a mixed group of neoplasms containing both glandular and non-glandular patterns with epithelial and/or mesenchymal components. It accounts for fewer than 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses. It is most closely associated with invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (IDC), and shares similar treatment approaches. Relative to IDC, MBC generally has higher histological grade and larger tumor size at time of diagnosis, with a lower incidence of axillary lymph node involvement. MBC tumors are typically estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER-2) negative, meaning hormone therapy is generally not an effective treatment option, which correlates to a relatively poor prognosis. MBC was first recognized as a distinct pathological entity in 2000 by the World Health Organization.
Salivary gland tumours, also known as mucous gland adenomas or neoplasms, are tumours that form in the tissues of salivary glands. The salivary glands are classified as major or minor. The major salivary glands consist of the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands. The minor salivary glands consist of 800 to 1000 small mucus-secreting glands located throughout the lining of the oral cavity. Patients with these types of tumours may be asymptomatic.
Combined small cell lung carcinoma is a form of multiphasic lung cancer that is diagnosed by a pathologist when a malignant tumor, arising from transformed cells originating in lung tissue, contains a component of;small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), admixed with one components of any histological variant of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in any relative proportion.
Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the lung is a very rare histologic form of malignant epithelial neoplasm ("carcinoma") arising from lung tissue.
Acinar adenocarcinoma is a histological subtype of gland-forming cancer that is diagnosed when cuboidal and/or columnar shaped malignant cells in the neoplastic tissue form acini and tubules. It is a common form of cancer occurring in the lung and prostate gland.
Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung is a term that encompasses five distinct histological subtypes of lung cancer, including (1) pleomorphic carcinoma, (2) spindle cell carcinoma, (3) giant cell carcinoma, (4) carcinosarcoma, or (5) pulmonary blastoma.
Giant-cell carcinoma of the lung (GCCL) is a rare histological form of large-cell lung carcinoma, a subtype of undifferentiated lung cancer, traditionally classified within the non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC).
Adenosquamous lung carcinoma (AdSqLC) is a biphasic malignant tumor arising from lung tissue that is composed of at least 10% by volume each of squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) and adenocarcinoma (AdC) cells.
Salivary gland–like carcinomas of the lung generally refers a class of rare cancers that arise from the uncontrolled cell division (mitosis) of mutated cancer stem cells in lung tissue. They take their name partly from the appearance of their abnormal cells, whose structure and features closely resemble those of cancers that form in the major salivary glands of the head and neck. Carcinoma is a term for malignant neoplasms derived from cells of epithelial lineage, and/or that exhibit cytological or tissue architectural features characteristically found in epithelial cells.
Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (Bas-SqCC) is an uncommon histological variant of lung cancer composed of cells exhibiting cytological and tissue architectural features of both squamous cell lung carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
Vulvar tumors are those neoplasms of the vulva. Vulvar and vaginal neoplasms make up a small percentage (3%) of female genital cancers. They can be benign or malignant. Vulvar neoplasms are divided into cystic or solid lesions and other mixed types. Vulvar cancers are those malignant neoplasms that originate from vulvar epithelium, while vulvar sarcomas develop from non-epithelial cells such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Epithelial and mesenchymal tissue are the origin of vulvar tumors.
