Liposarcoma can be mistaken for lipoma as it can be hard to tell the difference between the two without a biopsy.
Doctors can tell the difference between a lipoma and a liposarcoma by performing tests such as ultrasound tests and MRI tests.
An ultrasound can tell the difference between lipoma and liposarcoma and it's a low cost and non invasive method to determine which of the two types of tumors you have.
An MRI can show the difference between lipoma and liposarcoma.
An MRI can tell the difference between lipoma and liposarcoma as MRI findings of lipomas most often show high intensity in both T1- and T2-weighted images, reflecting their uniform structure with fatty tissue.
And high-grade liposarcomas, including myxoid, round cell, pleomorphic, and dedifferentiated liposacrcoma, show low intensity in T1-weighted images.
A lipoma is a noncancerous soft tissue tumor that grows beneath your skin.
Liposarcomas are cancerous soft tissue tumors that may grow in soft tissue deep inside your body.
Lipomas aren't life-threatening and oftentimes are simply observed without treatment.
The diagnostic test for liposarcoma is a biopsy which is a test that removes some of the suspicious tissue either through surgery or with a needle and a syringe.
Other diagnostic tests for liposarcoma includes MRI, CT scan and X Ray.
The 10 year survival rate for liposarcoma is 87% in well differentiated Liposarcoma.
In Myxoid liposarcoma the 10 year survival rate is 76% and in Pleomorphic Liposarcoma the 10 year survival rate is 39%
Liposarcoma starts when the fat cells get changes in their DNA.
The cell's DNA is what holds the instructions which tell the cell what they are to do.
These changes turn the fat cells into cancer cells and the changes tell the cancer cells to grow quickly and then to make a lot of extra cells which leads to liposarcoma cancer.
Liposarcoma is most commonly found in the extremities, as well as the retroperitoneum and also in the esophagus.
Liposarcoma also known as myxoid liposarcoma of the extremities presents as a deep mass in the lower extremity.
The most common liposarcoma is well-differentiated liposarcoma which grows slowly and generally does not spread to other parts of the body.
Well-differentiated liposarcoma also has a tendency to regrow after initial treatment.
A more aggressive form of well-differentiated liposarcoma is called dedifferentiated liposarcoma.
A liposarcoma lump may feel like a soft or rubbery lump under your skin.
You may be able to move the liposarcoma lump by pushing on it with your fingers.
Sclerosing well-differentiated liposarcoma is more commonly seen in the retroperitoneum and paratesticular area.
It is characterized by the presence of scattered bizarre stromal cells with hyperchromatic nuclei associated with multivacuolated lipoblasts.
The cells are present in a dense collagenous stroma.
Soft tissue sarcomas occur in approximately 5000 patients in the United States per year.
Overall, liposarcomas account for less than 20% of all soft tissue sarcomas, and the average patient age at presentation is 50 years.
Liposarcoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in your fatty tissue.
This type of tumor can grow anywhere in your body.
Common places include your abdomen, thigh, and behind your knee.
A liposarcoma is a malignant tumor.
Liposarcoma can be life-threatening, but it depends on the type.
Well-differentiated liposarcoma has a 100% 5-year survival rate, and most myxoid types have 88% 5-year survival rates.
Round-cell and dedifferentiated liposarcomas have a 5-year survival rate of about 50%.
If you have a type of liposarcoma, you have a very rare form of cancer.
Many times, healthcare providers can successfully treat this condition with surgery that removes and essentially cures the cancer.
But some liposarcomas come back. You may need to have regular checkups for many years after completing treatment.
Pleomorphic Liposarcoma is the least common form of liposarcoma that affects an arm or leg, a pleomorphic sarcoma is often more aggressive than other liposarcomas, spreading to other sites of the body such as lung and into soft tissue.