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Retroperitoneal sarcoma is a rare cancer. It grows in the muscles, nerves and other soft tissues at the back of the abdomen. The name describes where the sarcoma is located. “Retro” means behind and “peritoneum” means the lining of the abdominal area. Because there is a lot of room for the cancer to grow here, retroperitoneal sarcoma tumors can grow quite large before they are noticed.
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Symptoms and Signs
Many people do not feel any symptoms of retroperitoneal sarcoma at first. That’s because these tumors have plenty of space to grow without causing problems. As they get bigger though, a common sign is feeling a lump or mass in the stomach area.
Other symptoms include belly pain, feeling full quickly when eating or losing weight for no known reason. If the tumor is large enough to press on nerves or blood vessels, it might also cause pain, weakness or swelling in the legs.
Causes and Risk Factors
Researchers are not exactly sure why retroperitoneal sarcoma starts. Most patients do not have any known risk factors. However, there are a few factors that might increase the risk. For example, being exposed to radiation therapy in the past while being treated for a different cancer is a risk factor.
Certain rare genetic conditions, like neurofibromatosis 1, can also make it more likely for someone to develop this disease. Even with these risks, it is important to know that retroperitoneal sarcoma is extremely rare.
Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Care Team
At Fred Hutch, we offer comprehensive treatment from a team of experts who specialize in soft tissue sarcomas and bone cancers.
Learn more about sarcoma specialists at Fred Hutch.
Diagnosing Retroperitoneal Sarcoma
Often, the first step toward a retroperitoneal sarcoma diagnosis happens when patient visits a physician because they’re not feeling well, but don’t know why. During an exam, the physician may press on the abdomen and feel a hard mass that should not be there.
To further understand what is going on, a physician will request special imaging tests like CT scans or MRIs. The images will show if a tumor is present and if it is touching nearby organs or blood vessels. To confirm a diagnosis of retroperitoneal sarcoma a biopsy is needed. This is when the physician takes a tiny sample of the tumor and sends it to a lab for analysis. Together, the information from these tests will be used to determine the stage and grade of the tumor and confirm the diagnosis.
Learn more about diagnosing and staging sarcoma.
Treating Retroperitoneal Sarcoma
The main treatment for retroperitoneal sarcoma is surgery to remove the tumor. Because these tumors can grow very close to important parts of the body, surgeons sometimes have to remove nearby organs. For instance, sometimes a kidney or part of the bowel is removed to make sure all the cancer is gone. A physician may also use radiation therapy, such as proton therapy, before surgery to help shrink the tumor and lower the chance of the cancer coming back.
Learn more about treating sarcoma.