There are quite a bit of differences between carcinomas and sarcomas. Both have many different types.
Carcinomas and sarcomas are two of the main types of cancer.
Carcinomas are cancers that develop in epithelial cells, which cover the internal organs and outer surfaces of your body. Sarcomas are cancers that develop in mesenchymal cells, which make up both your bones and soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, and blood vessels.
Cancer happens when cells start to divide uncontrollably and spread to other tissues. This creates masses called tumors. Most cases of cancer involve either a carcinoma or a sarcoma. In many cases the causes are unknown.
Sarcomas are tumors that develop from soft tissue cells called mesenchymal cells. Mesenchymal cells help form and support many vital organs and tissues, such as:
Bones
Blood Vessels
Cartilage
Nerves
Muscles
Tendons
Ligaments
While rare and very slow growing, there are over 75 types of sarcomas. They can occur anywhere, but are most common in the abdomen, arms and legs.
Carcinomas and sarcomas also differ in how common they are. While carcinomas are more common, sarcomas are rarer.
According to the Cancer Research UK, sarcomas account for less than 1 percent of cancers diagnosed each year.
Like carcinomas, sarcomas can affect anyone. However, certain medical conditions, environmental influences, and lifestyle habits can increase your risk of developing a type of sarcoma.
Sarcomas are also seen in children, not just older adults. The types of sarcomas that are more common in infants, children, and young adults include:
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Desmoplastic small round cell tumor
Epithelioid sarcoma
Synovial sarcoma
Infantile fibrosarcoma
Types of sarcomas that are more common in adults include:
Adult fibrosarcoma
Fibromyxoid sarcoma, low grade
Liposarcomas
Dermatofibrosarcoma
Myxofibrosarcomas, low and high grade
WHICH ONE IS MORE DANGEROUS?
It is very hard to say whether carcinomas or sarcomas are more dangerous. Survival rates for any type of cancer depend on a variety of factors, including:
Size of the tumor
Location of the tumor
Growth rate of the tumor or cancerous cells
Whether the cancer has spread to other tissues or organs
Age
Additional medical conditions
Gender
Ethnicity
Sarcomas are not common among any age group. In adults, sarcomas are estimated to be about one percent of all cancers, and approximately 12,000 people a year in the U.S. are diagnosed with some form of sarcoma (NCI, Report of the Sarcoma Progress Review Group, January 2004, page 1).
Sarcomas are relatively more common among children. Between 1,500 and 1,700 U.S. children are diagnosed with a bone or soft tissue sarcoma each year making up about 15 percent of cancers in children under the age of 20, but pediatric cancers themselves are rare and make up only about 1 percent of cancer cases (SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2004, Table I – 10 Age Distribution of Diagnosis and Death).
Overall, cancers are caused by certain changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide. Each person’s cancer has a unique combination of genetic changes. Tumor DNA sequencing allows physicians to identify genetic changes in cancer cells that may be driving the growth of an individual’s cancer. This information can help them determine the type of cancer a person has and the most appropriate treatment options. For more information on the genetics of cancer, please see https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics.
When my husband was first diagnosed at UCLA Medical Center pathology, his condition was termed dermatofibrosarcoma. However it wasn’t until this past November that the genetic rearrangement called COL1A1-PDGFB was tested. A genetic rearrangement is a genetic change in which a piece of one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome. Based on my husband’s gene test for COL1A1-PDGFB it showed that it wasn’t rearranged and the term was then changed to myxofibrosarcoma. Why they didn’t test the genes for this type is unknown to us. Also a soft tissue sarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma is not associated with a COL1A1 rearrangement. Neither dermatofibrosarcoma or myxofibrosarcoma are from sun exposure. And neither are influenced by hereditary.
Like dermatofibrosarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma is also a rare type of cancer that forms in connective tissue, usually in or just under the skin of the arms and legs. There may be more than one tumor, and it sometimes spreads to nearby tissue or to other parts of the body.
