Can Liposarcoma Be Seen on Ultrasound?

Liposarcoma may have no symptoms, especially early in the disease. When symptoms of liposarcoma occur, they may include: 

• A lump 
  • May be soft or firm to the touch
  • Usually painless and slow growing
  • Swelling or numbness may occur in the area around the lump
• If the tumor is in the abdomen:
  • Abdominal pain or cramping
  • Flank (side) pain
  • Abdominal swelling
  • Constipation 
  • Sensation of feeling full sooner than expected after eating
  • Blood in the stool (may appear as black or tarry stool)
  • Blood in vomit
• Non-specific symptoms
  • Fevers
  • Chills
  • Fatigue
  • Night sweats
  • Weight loss

The cause of liposarcoma is unknown. 

Risk factors for developing liposarcoma include: 

• Certain genetic syndromes
• Exposure to radiation from treatment for another cancer
• Exposure to some chemicals
• Damaged lymph system

Liposarcoma is diagnosed with a physical examination. Tests used to help confirm the diagnosis include: 

• X-ray 
• Computed tomography (CT) 
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound
• Biopsy
  • Needle biopsy
  • Surgical biopsy

Treatment for liposarcoma depends on the type, size, and location of the tumor. Treatment for liposarcoma includes: 

• Surgery
  • First-line treatment for primary liposarcomas that have not yet spread to other organs
  • The tumor is removed along with a wide margin of healthy surrounding tissue 
  • In about 5% of cases, limb amputation is needed to completely remove the cancer 
  • Complete surgical removal of tumors within the abdomen is difficult
• Combination of surgery and radiation therapy
  • Radiation therapy may be used before, during, or after surgery to destroy tumor cells and reduce the chance of the tumor recurring in the same location
  • The combination of surgery and radiation therapy can prevent tumor recurrence at the surgical site in about 85-90% of cases
• Chemotherapy
  • May be used in certain situations where patients have a high risk of recurrence or already have widespread disease
  • Erybulin mesylate (Halaven) targets a specific step in cell division that prevents cells from dividing and ultimately destroys tumor cells
  • Trabectedin (Yondelis) works similarly by interfering with the gene repair mechanism of tumor cells
• Investigational therapies: immunotherapy drugs 
  • Checkpoint inhibitors work by blocking specific receptors on cells and releasing a natural brake on immune cells, so they can activate and target cancer-specific cells
    • Examples of checkpoint inhibitors include ipilimumab (Yervoy), nivolumab (Opdivo), and pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
  • T cell therapy involves removing normal T cells from the body and modifying them to recognize and attack cancer cells based on specific cell markers