A sarcoma is a cancer of the connective or supportive tissue and soft tissue affecting the bones, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessels. Osteogenic sarcoma or osteosarcoma is one of the most common childhood bone cancers. Soft tissue sarcomas are more common in adults than in children. In all, sarcomas constitute fewer than 1 percent of all cancers. Its treatment is made more difficult with the existence of more than 70 varieties.

New studies released by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that children who survive cancers have an increased risk of developing a secondary sarcoma,compared with the general population. Tara Henderson, M.D., of the University of Chicago Department of Pediatrics, and colleagues examined the incidence of secondary sarcomas and the risk factors associated with that risk among the 14,372 participants in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Overall, there were 751 second cancers diagnosed among the participants, 108 of which were secondary sarcomas such as soft tissue sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, and osteosarcoma. These sarcomas were diagnosed an average of 11 years after patients were diagnosed with their primary cancer.