Introduction
A rare type of cancer that starts in smooth muscle tissue is called leiomyosarcoma. Many body parts contain smooth muscle tissue, including the uterus, blood arteries, digestive system, and urinary system. The uterus or abdomen is where leiomyosarcoma most frequently starts. It begins as an aberrant cell growth and frequently spreads swiftly to infiltrate and kill healthy bodily tissue.
What Is Leiomyosarcoma?
An aggressive, uncommon kind of cancer called leiomyosarcoma (LMS) develops in smooth, involuntary muscles. The skeletal muscles that allow one to move one’s body differ from smooth muscles. There is smooth muscle tissue in the uterus, digestive tract, urinary system, and blood arteries, among other body parts. Soft tissue sarcomas include leiomyosarcomas. Although the disease affects both sexes, women are more likely to be affected by leiomyosarcoma. Even though anyone can get the illness, those over 50 are more likely to get it. Leiomyosarcoma is a violent cancer. It can double in size in as little as a month due to its rapid growth. Therefore, immediate medical attention is required.
What Kinds of Leiomyosarcoma Are There?
Three distinct forms of leiomyosarcoma exist. Among them are:
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LMS for Somatic Soft Tissue: Tumors of smooth muscle origin that arise in the extremities are called leiomyosarcomas of the somatic soft tissues. These lesions are most often high-grade malignancies with a dismal prognosis. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy, together with extensive excision, are frequently recommended treatments.
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Leiomyosarcoma (LMS): This is an uncommon form of leiomyosarcoma that affects the skin's piloerector muscles.
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LMS With a Vascular Cause: The pulmonary artery, inferior vena cava, or peripheral arteries are examples of the major blood vessels where leiomyosarcoma of vascular origin, the rarest kind, occurs.
What Distinguishes Leiomyoma From Leiomyosarcoma?
Benign (non-cancerous) fibroids called leiomyomas develop in the smooth muscles. Lipomyoma do not spread to other body parts, even though they might be troublesome. However, leiomyosarcomas are cancerous tumors that can metastasize to other parts of the body.
What Are the Symptoms of Leiomyosarcoma?
Individuals may have a range of symptoms based on the location and size of the tumor. Some people do not have symptoms at first, but as the tumor grows, they might notice certain signals like:
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Pain.
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Exhaustion.
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Bloating in the abdomen.
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Vomiting as well as nausea.
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Reduced weight.
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High temperature.
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A lump under the skin.
The digestive system's leiomyosarcoma may cause:
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Stomach ache.
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Appetite decline.
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Vomiting and nausea.
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Dark stools (caused by blood in the excrement).
Causes of uterine leiomyosarcoma include:
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Discharge from the vagina.
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Frequent urination.
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Unusual vaginal bleeding (not related to menstruation).
Why Does Leiomyosarcoma Occur?
The reason that causes leiomyosarcoma is precisely unknown to experts. It might be inherited, indicating received modified DNA from parents or result from genetic changes resulting in uncontrollably growing cells. Leiomyosarcoma can also result from:
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Earlier radiation treatment.
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Exposure to specific chemicals, including pesticides and weed killers.
How Is Leiomyosarcoma Distributed?
Bloodstream is the route used by leiomyosarcoma. Then, the cancer has the potential to spread to the lungs and other soft tissues.
How Does One Diagnose Leiomyosarcoma?
If the patient exhibits symptoms suggestive of leiomyosarcoma, the physician will prescribe certain tests. These could consist of:
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CT scans or computed tomography. (Tomography is an X-ray method in which a moving X-ray tube blurs the shadows of stacked structures.)
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MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging.
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PET examination.
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Angiography.
Biopsy: A biopsy is a process where some cells are removed for analysis. A soft tissue sarcoma biopsy must be performed in a method that will not interfere with upcoming surgery. Therefore, it is advisable to seek treatment in a hospital that treats a large number of patients with this kind of cancer. Skilled medical teams will decide which kind of biopsy is best.
Core Needle Biopsy: The physician uses a hollow needle to remove fragments of breast tissue from an area of concern that the physician feels during examination or observes during imaging tests. The needle can be coupled to a suction device that aids in drawing breast tissue into the needle, or it can be attached to a spring-loaded tool that propels the needle quickly in and out of the tissue (known as a vacuum-assisted core biopsy).
What Are the Treatment Methods of Leiomyosarcoma?
1. Operation: Surgery is a frequent treatment for soft tissue sarcoma. During the procedure, the surgeon typically removes the malignancy and some surrounding healthy tissue. Soft tissue sarcoma frequently affects arms and legs. While surgery to amputate an arm or leg was frequent in the past, other methods are now employed when practical. To reduce the cancer, for instance, chemotherapy and radiation may be applied. In this manner, cancer can be eliminated without requiring the leg to be amputated.
2. Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy can shrink a tumor, making its excision easier. More radiation can be given directly to the target area during surgery. After surgery, the healthy tissues surrounding the target location might be saved. Radiation therapy can also destroy any cancer cells that are still present after surgery.
3. Neoadjuvant Radiation: Radiation treatment could be applied before surgery. The term for it is neoadjuvant radiation. Radiation therapy can reduce the size of the sarcoma and facilitate its excision, allowing for a less involved procedure. The chance that the cancer may return in the future may also be decreased by radiation treatment before surgery.
4 Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy kills cancer cells using potent medications. While some medicines are available as pills, most are administered intravenously. Chemotherapy is more effective for treating some soft tissue sarcoma than others. For example, rhabdomyosarcoma is frequently treated with chemotherapy.
5. Personalized Treatment: Utilizing medications that target particular molecules in cancer cells is known as targeted therapy. Targeted therapies can kill cancer cells by preventing these substances from functioning. Cancer cells may be evaluated to determine whether targeted therapy would benefit the patient. Certain forms of soft tissue sarcoma, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors or GISTs, respond well to this treatment.
Conclusion
A low-grade malignancy, cutaneous leiomyosarcoma, has a variable prognosis based on the tumor's location, size, and histological grade. The diagnosis is mostly based on histopathological examination, typically bolstered by immunohistochemistry investigations. Surgery is the most effective therapy option for LMS. LMS can be healed if the tumor is completely removed. There is a higher likelihood that the cancer will return to the same location or in a different portion of the body if any cancer cells are left behind.
