Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma

What is Alveolar soft part sarcoma?

Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare, slow growing soft tissue tumor and is among the least common sarcomas. This disorder is very rare because it involves a specific breaking and joining event between two chromosomes, called an “unbalanced translocation”. This finding is observed in essentially all people with ASPS examined so far. This breaking cannot be passed on to children as it occurs only in the tumor cells, not in the normal cells.

What causes alveolar soft part sarcoma?

There is no exact cause for alveolar soft part sarcoma. What is known is that two chromosomes break and rejoin is a certain way and bring together two genes, which are normally separated on chromosome X and 17. ASPS tends to affect younger people between ages 15 to 35. It is rare to find in children younger than 5 or in adults over the age of 35.

What are the symptoms of alveolar soft part sarcoma?

There are not many symptoms for alveolar soft part sarcoma. One might feel pain around the affected area causing limping or difficulty moving the affected area.

How is alveolar soft part sarcoma treated?

There are many ways to treat alveolar soft part sarcoma, including:

• Surgery
• Radiation
• Targeted drug therapy