ABSTRACT
Sarcomas are malignant mesenchymal tumors. Mesenchymal tissue is defi ned as a complex of nonepithelial structures of the body exclusive of reproductive tissue, glia, and hematopoietic and lymphoid tissue. Embryonically, these nonepithelial structures are derived from the mesoderm and, to a lesser degree, from the neuroectoderm and are grouped into fi brous tissue, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, blood and lymph vessels, and peripheral nervous tissue (Aogi et al. 2000). The word “sarcoma” is derived from the Greek word sarkoma meaning “fl eshy outgrowth”; sarcomas can present as either a bone sarcoma or a soft tissue sarcoma (Misra et al. 2009).
