STEP 1: Prevention and early detection
Prevention: The causes of sarcoma are not fully understood, and there is currently no clear prevention strategy.
Risk factors:
Risk factors for bone sarcoma include:
- family history
- history of retinoblastoma
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome
- history of childhood cancer
- prior abnormalities (for example, Paget’s disease, avascular necrosis, polyostotic fibrous dysplasia).
- past treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy
- exposure to certain chemicals (for example, vinyl chloride and dioxin)
- age (less than 30 or over 50 years).
Risk factors for soft tissue sarcoma include:
- familial syndromes
- history of cancer
- past treatment with radiation therapy
- prolonged lymphoedema
- exposure to certain chemicals (for example, vinyl chloride and dioxin)
- age (over 50 years).
