Pathology of Soft Tissue Sarcomas.
Approximately 5600 patients with soft tissue sarcomas are diagnosed annually in the United States. The pathologist must distinguish a diverse group of histiogenic types of soft tissue sarcomas from reactive processes, benign tumors, melanomas, lymphomas, and carcinomas. Sarcomas are difficult to grade, since the grading schemes tend to be subjective. However, newer techniques, including electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, DNA flow cytometry, cytogenetics, and molecular biology, can improve diagnostic accuracy and provide information on the biologic potential of these tumors. Communication between the pathologist and the clinician helps the pathologist provide as much information as possible from sarcoma biopsy and resection specimens.
Fanburg
JC
Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Rosenberg
AE