which hospital best for treatment of leiomyosarcoma

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What is the best treatment for leiomyosarcoma?

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill cancer cells. It might be recommended if the leiomyosarcoma can't be removed completely with surgery or if the cancer spreads to other areas of the body. Targeted drug therapy.

What kind of cancer is leiomyosarcoma?

Leiomyosarcoma. Leiomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer that affects smooth muscle tissue. These tumors are most common in the abdomen, but can occur anywhere in the body, including the uterus. Other common sites include blood vessels and skin. Abdominal leiomyosarcoma tumors can measure over 4 inches...

Can leiomyosarcoma affect the kidneys?

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare cancer that grows in the smooth muscles, like those found in your stomach, bladder, uterus, intestines and blood vessels. Treatments may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery. Very rarely, leiomyosarcoma can affect the kidneys. What is leiomyosarcoma?

Can leiomyosarcoma spread to other parts of the body?

About a third of the leiomyosarcomas that occur in the uterus have already spread to other parts of the body at the time of diagnosis. While chemotherapy and radiation is generally not used in early-stage uterine leiomyosarcoma, they are used to treat the tumors that have spread to other parts of the body.

Who is the best doctor for sarcoma?

Dr. Wittig, Orthopedic Oncologist and Sarcoma Surgeon, ranked as Top Doctor by US News and World Report > Tumor Surgery.

What is the best treatment for leiomyosarcoma?

When surgery is possible, it's the best treatment option for leiomyosarcoma. The goal is to remove the entire tumor so that the cancer doesn't come back. Chemotherapy. This treatment is often recommended when the tumor is large, or when cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body.

What is the best sarcoma center in the world?

Sarcoma Oncology Center. ... Stanford University Cancer Center. ... University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. ... University of California, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. ... University of California, Moores Cancer Center. ... University of California, San Francisco. ... University of Southern California, Keck Hospital.More items...

What is the best chemo for leiomyosarcoma?

Adriamycin (Doxorubicin) and ifosfamide are the chemotherapy drugs that are currently used to treat leiomyosarcoma. They work well for some people, but not everyone. Doctors think that the drugs gemcitabine and docetaxel (Taxotere) may be better.

Can chemo cure leiomyosarcoma?

Curative chemotherapy aims to remove all cancer cells from the body and achieve a permanent cure. As mentioned, this is generally not possible with leiomyosarcoma.

Does anyone survive leiomyosarcoma?

Leiomyosarcoma 5-year survival rates: Localized (no sign the cancer has spread outside the original site): 63% Regional (cancer has spread some, but has not progressed farther than the region where it first originated): 36% Distant (cancer has spread to distant parts of the body): 14%

Does MD Anderson treat leiomyosarcoma?

Types of cancers we treat: All soft tissue sarcomas, including leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma.

What is leiomyosarcoma?

Leiomyosarcoma, or LMS, is a type of rare cancer that grows in the smooth muscles. The smooth muscles are in the hollow organs of the body, including the intestines, stomach, bladder, and blood vessels. In females, there is also smooth muscle in the uterus.

What kind of doctor treats soft tissue sarcomas?

If your family doctor suspects you have soft tissue sarcoma, you'll likely be referred to a cancer doctor (oncologist) who specializes in sarcomas. Soft tissue sarcoma is fairly rare and is best treated by someone who has experience with it, often at an academic or specialized cancer center.

Who treats leiomyosarcoma?

You may need to work with a surgical oncologist, thoracic expert, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, a rehabilitative specialist, and so on.

How fast do leiomyosarcoma grow?

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare but aggressive type of cancer. It can grow fast and may even double in size in as little as four weeks. The treatment needs to be initiated as soon as possible after its diagnosis. Even after the treatment, there are high chances that this type of cancer will recur.

Does leiomyosarcoma respond to chemotherapy?

LMS is not curable by chemotherapy or radiation. And sarcomas, as a group, are relatively resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, although there is variation within the group. There is even variation within the group of leiomyosarcoma tumors, as to response to chemotherapy and/or radiation.

How to find an oncologist?

The search engine is found here. Use the “Search by physician specialty” engine and choose their “Oncology (Cancer)” specialty to begin a search.

How many states have sarcoma centers?

The Sarcoma Alliance has a complete list of the Sarcoma Centers in the United States, and these do appear in almost all 50 states. The site also has an international listing, too. The list is found here.

What does a doctor do for a LMS?

According to the National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation a, “Doctor will take a complete medical history to check for any risk factors and to ask you about symptoms, as well as any other medical conditions. They will also examine you for signs of sarcomas and other health problems.” (NLMSF.org, 2015) After that you will have to have various tests done to determine if you do indeed have LMS, and what stage it is at.

What specialist do you need for sarcoma?

You may need to work with a surgical oncologist, thoracic expert, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, a rehabilitative specialist, and so on. However, the first key step is the location of any sarcoma, its staging, and then the design of your treatment. Because of that, you will need to work with a specialist team experienced in LMS.

Can a leiomyosarcoma be diagnosed at a cancer treatment center?

However, the first steps in an official diagnosis will not be done at a cancer treatment center. Instead, the process most often begins with a patient visiting a regular physician or gynecologist due ...

Is there a network of specialists for leiomyosarcoma?

Leiomyosarcoma Specialists – A State by State Guide. Because Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is such a rare condition, with only a few thousand cases being diagnosed each year, there is not a widespread network of healthcare professionals available to take the cases that do arise. Instead, there is a solid network of hospitals and cancer treatment centers ...

Why do LMS patients need a team approach?

The first thing to note is that most patients with LMS are treated by a team of medical care providers simply because they condition is not common and because it is a form of cancer.

What kind of doctor do you need for cancer?

For example, your diagnosis was done by a pathologist, but you may also need a surgeon, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and more. Medical oncologists, radiologists, nurses and perhaps even a counselor may all be on your team.

What is the most common thing for a medical team to do?

The most common thing for a medical team to do is to determine if they can remove the tumor outright. This is then going to be followed up with radiation therapy to be sure that the likelihood of the cancer returning is greatly reduced.

Where does cancer appear in the body?

This is because it is a form of cancer that appears in soft tissue, particularly in the involuntary muscles tissue of the body. Because of that, it can appear in organs as well as in blood vessels, and that requires a wide array of possible treatment methods.

Can a sarcoma be removed?

Additionally, when a soft tissue sarcoma has grown to an extent that it is impacting circulation and nerves, and it cannot be removed otherwise, the more extreme step of amputation may provide the patient with a far greater quality of life.

Is there chemotherapy for LMS?

There are also some chemotherapy treatments administered to those who may be at risk for their form of LMS returning.

Is it bad to have a counselor for LMS?

And here we should point out that finding out the name of options in complementary therapies, such as a counselor, is not a bad idea. Everyone responds differently to a diagnosis of LMS, and you may struggle with your emotional response or need help and support in dealing with the outcome of your diagnosis. Your family may also benefit from this sort of gentle support too.

What is leiomyosarcoma?

Leiomyosarcoma, or LMS, is a type of rare cancer that grows in the smooth muscles. The smooth muscles are in the hollow organs of the body, including the intestines, stomach, bladder, and blood vessels. In females, there is also smooth muscle in the uterus. These smooth muscle tissues help move blood, food, and other material through the body and work without you being aware.

How common is LMS?

LMS is a type of soft tissue sarcoma and makes up between 10% to 20% of soft tissue sarcoma cases. LMS is more common in adults than children. It is estimated that only about 20 to 30 children are diagnosed with LMS in the United States per year. LMS of the uterus affects about 6 per 1 million people per year in the United States.

How is LMS treated?

You should go to an expert in LMS treatment to decide the best approach for treating your tumor. You can contact MyPART for help finding experts near you.

Does LMS run in families?

No. LMS without an underlying genetic condition is not known to run in families.

What is the prognosis for someone with LMS?

The estimate of how a disease will affect you in the long term is called prognosis. Every person is different, and prognosis will depend on many factors, such as:

How do doctors estimate LMS survival rates?

Doctors estimate LMS survival rates by how groups of people with LMS have done in the past. Because there are so few pediatric LMS patients, these rates may not be very accurate.

How to check if a tumor is LMS?

Biopsy: To check if the tumor is LMS, your doctor will do a biopsy, taking a small sample from the tumor with a needle. An expert, called a pathologist, will study cells from the sample under the microscope to see what kind of tumor it is.

How do leiomyosarcomas and other uterine sarcomas differ from other types of uterine cancer?

Uterine sarcomas arise in the muscle or connective tissues of the uterus, whereas the more common type of uterine cancer, called endometrial carcinoma, starts in the lining of the uterus. These two types of cancer have different systems of staging and different treatment approaches. Some high-grade uterine sarcomas can be much harder to treat than endometrial carcinomas and have lower survival rates, even when the disease is caught early.

What are the symptoms of uterine sarcoma?

For all uterine cancers, not just sarcoma, symptoms may include abnormal bleeding or unusual discharge from the vagina between menstrual periods or after menopause. Other symptoms can include pain, an unusual feeling of fullness in the pelvic area, and frequent urination.

Why did you choose to work on uterine sarcomas at Memorial Sloan Kettering?

Doing this work at MSK means that I am fortunate to work with a deeply experienced team of sarcoma-dedicated specialists representing all aspects of care — pathologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, and nurses. Our collective skills and experience in the diagnosis and treatment of these rare tumors give us the ability to choose the best treatment for each patient that fits the behavior of that patient’s specific sarcoma.

What is a carcinosarcoma?

We sent your question to Dr. Hensley, who responded, “Carcinosarcomas are cancers that nearly always arise in the gynecologic organ (Mullerian) tract. They have a biphasic appearance with part of the tumor looking like endometrial carcinoma and part looking like sarcoma. The sarcoma portion can look like a number of different types of sarcoma, including sarcomas that would not be expected in the uterus, such as chondrosarcoma. Currently, we consider that carcinosarcomas differ enough from endometrial carcinoma in terms of disease behavior and prognosis that we strive to study them separately. They also differ from leiomyosarcoma (LMS) and thus are not generally included in LMS studies. Like gynecologic carcinomas and gynecologic sarcomas, carcinosarcomas are rare tumors that are best managed by physicians who are clinical experts in gynecologic malignancies.”

What are the different types of uterine sarcoma?

There are several different types of uterine sarcomas, which vary in their behavior, prognosis, and treatment. The most common type is leiomyosarcoma. Other types include carcinosarcoma, adenosarcoma, low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma, and high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. In addition to being very different from endometrial carcinoma, these sarcoma types are very different from each other. Each has its own method of treatment. For example, some of these tumors may be hormone-sensitive whereas others are not.

What is the best treatment for leiomyosarcoma?

Treatments so far, each for at least 3 cycles: Gemcitabine, Gemcitabine + Gemcitabine, DOXOrubicin, Trabectdin, Votrient. Tumors have increased in size and number. Thank you.

Is uterine sarcoma rare?

Uterine sarcomas are very rare diseases. Most women who develop these cancers do not have any identifiable risk factors for sarcoma. Women who are survivors of childhood cancers and who were treated with radiation are at increased risk for developing sarcomas as adults, including uterine sarcomas.

What is the name of the cancer that starts in the tissues that connect, support and surround other body structures?

They might include pain, weight loss, and a growing lump or swelling that can be felt through the skin. Leiomyosarcoma is a type of soft tissue sarcoma, which is a broad category of cancers that begin in the tissues that connect, support and surround other body structures.

What is a biopsy sample?

A biopsy procedure involves removing a sample of suspicious tissue for testing. The sample is sent to a lab where it's analyzed to see if it's leiomyosarcoma. How the biopsy sample is collected depends on where the suspicious tissue is located.

How does radiation kill cancer cells?

Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams, such as X-rays and protons, to kill cancer cells. During a radiation therapy session, you lie on a table while a machine moves around you and directs the energy beams into your body. Radiation therapy might be recommended after surgery to kill any cancer cells that might remain.

Where is leiomyosarcoma found?

Smooth muscle tissue is found in many areas of the body, such as the digestive system, urinary system, blood vessels and uterus.

What is the purpose of physical exam?

Physical exam. Your doctor may examine you to gather more clues about what's causing any signs and symptoms you may be experiencing.

Can leiomyosarcoma be removed?

It might be recommended if the leiomyosarcoma can't be removed completely with surgery or if the cancer spreads to other areas of the body. Targeted drug therapy. Targeted drug treatments focus on specific abnormalities present within cancer cells.

Can targeted drugs cause cancer?

By blocking these abnormalities, targeted drug treatments can cause cancer cells to die. Targeted drug therapy might be an option for advanced leiomyosarcoma. Your doctor may test your cancer cells to determine whether targeted drugs might be helpful for you. By Mayo Clinic Staff.