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* CANCER FACTS *
* National Cancer Institute *
* National Institutes of Health *
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Synovial Sarcoma
Synovial sarcoma, also called synovioma, is a rare cancer that
begins in synovial tissue. Synovial tissue can be found in tendons
(tissues that connect muscle to bone), bursae (fluid-filled,
cushioning sacs found in spaces between tendons, ligaments, and
bones), and the cavity (hollow enclosed area) that separates the bones
of a freely movable joint, such as the knee or elbow.
Synovial sarcomas occur mainly in the arms and legs, where they tend
to arise in the area of large joints, especially the knee region. Less
frequently, the disease develops in the head and neck and in the
trunk. This cancer occurs mostly in adolescents and young adults, and
it affects more males than females.
The most common symptom of synovial sarcoma is a deep-seated
swelling or a mass that may be accompanied by pain or tenderness. In a
few cases, pain or tenderness is present for several years even though
a mass cannot be felt. These cases can be easily mistaken for
arthritis, bursitis, or synovitis. Sometimes synovial sarcoma causes
other symptoms related to the location of the tumor. The
diagnosis of synovial sarcoma is made by biopsy (removal of
tissue for examination under a microscope).
The type of treatment selected depends on the extent (stage) of
the disease and the location of the sarcoma. The most common treatment
for this type of cancer is surgery to remove the entire tumor,
nearby muscle, and lymph nodes. Some patients have radiation,
chemotherapy, or a combination of treatment methods.
Biological therapy (treatment to stimulate or restore the ability
of the immune system to fight the disease) and new types of
chemotherapy are currently being studied in clinical trials.
Synovial sarcoma tends to recur locally and to involve regional
lymph nodes. Distant metastasis (spreading to other areas of the
body) occurs in about one-half of the cases, sometimes many years
after the initial diagnosis.
Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the Cancer
Information Service (see below), or on the clinical trials page of the
National Cancer Institutes Cancer.gov Web site at
http://cancer.gov/clinical_trials via the Internet. At this Web
site, trials for patients with synovial sarcoma are included with
sarcoma, soft tissue, adult and sarcoma, soft tissue, childhood.
This fact sheet was reviewed on 8/24/98
# # #
National Cancer Institute Information Resources
You may want more information for yourself, your family, and your doctor. The
following National Cancer Institute (NCI) services are available to help you.
Telephone...
Cancer Information Service (CIS)
Provides accurate, up-to-date information on cancer to patients and their
families, health professionals, and the general public. Information
specialists translate the latest scientific information into understandable
language and respond in English, Spanish, or on TTY
equipment.
Toll-free: 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
TTY: 1-800-332-8615
Internet...
http://cancer.gov - Cancer.gov is the NCI s primary web site and provides
immediate access to critical cancer information and resources. It contains
material for health professionals, patients, and the public, including
information from PDQ about cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics,
supportive care, and clinical trials, and CANCERLIT, a bibliographic database.
Cancer.gov also includes information on understanding trials, deciding whether
to participate in trials, finding specific trials, plus research news and
other resources.
E-mail...
CancerMail
Includes NCI information about cancer treatment, screening, prevention,
genetics, and supportive care. To obtain a contents list, send e-mail to
cancermail@cips.nci.nih.gov with the word "help" in the body of the message.
Fax...
CancerFax
Includes NCI information about cancer treatment, screening, prevention,
genetics, and supportive care. To obtain a contents list, dial 301-402-5874
or 1-800-624-2511 from a touch-tone telephone or fax machine hand set and
follow the recorded instructions.
Date Last Modified: 08/1998
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This information has been brought to you by
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