Soft tissue sarcoma is an uncommon type of cancer that occurs when cells in the soft tissues of the body grow out of control.
- Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in soft tissues such as muscle, fat, nerves, fibrous tissues such as tendons, blood vessels, lymph vessels, or deep skin tissues.
- They can develop in any part of the body, including in the glute (gluteal muscles), a group of three muscles that encompass the gluteal region, also known as the buttocks.
- There are many types of tumors in the soft tissues, and not all of them are cancerous, however, if a tumor is diagnosed as a sarcoma, it means it is cancerous (malignant). Sarcomas are overall not common, and some are very rare and others can be very deadly.
- Other types of cancer may spread (metastasize) to the gluteal muscles as well.
What Do Muscle Tumors Look and Feel Like?
Signs and symptoms of a tumor in the glute caused by soft tissue sarcoma include:
- A lump that may or may not cause pain
- Lump grows over time (weeks to months)
- As the sarcoma grows it can press on nearby nerves, muscles, organs, or blood vessels, and cause:
- Pain
- Breathing problems
Is Buttock Cancer Curable?
Soft tissue sarcoma in the glutes and elsewhere is more able to be cured with surgical treatment when it is found early and is still localized.
Treatments for soft tissue sarcoma may include one or more of the following:
- Surgery
- This most common treatment
- Removal of the entire tumor along with at least 1 to 2 cm (less than an inch) of the normal tissue around it (wide margins), when possible
- Wide local excision
- Amputation
- Limb-sparing surgery
- Lymph node dissection (lymphadenectomy)
- Mohs microsurgery, in which the tumor is cut from the skin in thin layers
- Chemotherapy (chemo), radiation, or both may be given before surgery (neoadjuvant treatment) or after surgery (adjuvant treatment)
- Radiation therapy
- External beam radiation
- Most often used to treat sarcomas
- Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT)
- One large dose of radiation given in the operating room after the tumor is removed but before the wound is closed
- Brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy
- Small pellets (or seeds) of radioactive material are placed in or near the cancer
- External beam radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted drug therapy
- Drug combinations
If a tumor in the glutes is a metastasis from another part of the body, the original cancer is treated, which may also involve some of the treatments listed above.
What Causes a Tumor in the Glute?
Soft tissue sarcoma is believed to be caused by genetic changes (mutations), but the exact cause for these mutations is unknown.
Risk factors for developing soft tissue sarcoma include:
- Radiation therapy used to treat other cancers
- Certain family cancer syndromes
- Damaged lymph system/lymphedema
- Chemical exposure
- Arsenic
- Dioxin
- Herbicides (weed killers) containing phenoxyacetic acid at high doses
- Thorium dioxide (Thorotrast)
- Vinyl chloride (a chemical used in making plastics)
How Is a Tumor in the Glute Diagnosed?
Soft tissue sarcomas are diagnosed with a patient history and physical exam, along with tests such as:
- Blood tests
- Imaging tests
- X-ray
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- Ultrasound
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
- Tissue biopsy
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https://www.cancer.org/cancer/soft-tissue-sarcoma.html
https://www.cancer.gov/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/patient/adult-soft-tissue-treatment-pdq
https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/sarcomas-soft-tissue/statistics