Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma

Synonyms

• ASPS
• Alveolar sarcoma of soft parts
• ASP sarcoma

Disorder Subdivisions

• None

General Discussion

Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare sarcoma (malignant tumor of connective tissue) of an unclear cause. It is among the least common sarcomas, representing 0.2-1 percent of large studies of soft tissue sarcomas. Since there are approximately 8000 soft-tissue sarcomas per year that arise in the United States, this means there are on the order of 15 to 80 cases nationwide each year. It is characterized by a painless mass in the leg or buttock, with a particular affinity to travel to the lungs as multiple nodules, presumably while the sarcoma itself is still small. ASPS 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 ASPS examined so far. This finding cannot be passed on to children, however, as the finding occurs only in the tumor, not in the normal cells; in addition, there are no families in which multiple family members have ASPS.



Treatment is with surgery and radiation for the primary place where the sarcoma arises. For disease that travels to the lungs, sometimes surgery is possible to remove nodules, but more typically chemotherapy is the only option for treatment. This tumor tends to be resistant to standard chemotherapy, so new treatments involving new chemotherapy drugs are also a reasonable option for treatment. Interferon-alfa showed benefit in one person from Japan with ASPS. There is little other data on possible helpful chemotherapy for this tumor.

.

Resources

American Cancer Society, Inc.

1599 Clifton Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30329

USA

Tel: (404)320-3333

Tel: (800)227-2345

Internet: http://www.cancer.org



National Cancer Institute

6116 Executive Blvd, MSC 8322, Room 3036A

Bethesda, MD 20892-8322

USA

Tel: (301)435-3848

Tel: (800)422-6237

TDD: (800)332-8615

Internet: http://www.cancer.gov



National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

1010 Wayne Avenue

Suite770

Silver Spring, MD 20910-5600

Tel: (301)650-9127

Fax: (301)565-9670

Tel: (877)622-7937

Email: infor@canceradvocacy.org

Internet: http:// www.canceradvocacy.org



Sarcoma Foundation of America

9884 Main Street

Damascus, MD 20872

USA

Tel: (301)253-8690

Fax: (301)253-8690

Email: info@curesarcoma.org

Internet: http://www.curesarcoma.org



Sarcoma Alliance

775 E. Blithedale #334

Mill Valley, CA 94941

USA

Tel: (415)381-7236

Fax: (415)381-7235

Email: info@sarcomaalliance.org

Internet: http://www.sarcomaalliance.org



Rare Cancer Alliance

1649 North Pacana Way

Green Valley, AZ 85614

USA

Tel: (520)625-5495

Fax: (615)526-4921

Email: sharon.lane@rare-cancer.org

Internet: http://www.rare-cancer.org



Alliance Against Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma

141-08 Coolidge Ave

Briarwood, NY 11435

USA

Tel: (718)523-7752

Fax: (718)657-0516

Email: info@alveolarspsarcoma.net

Internet: http://www.alveolarspsarcoma.net/



Cure Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma International

260 Tappan St.

Brookline, MA 02445

Tel: (617)731-1143

Email: landesmany@yahoo.com

Internet: http://cureasps.org/



Friends of Cancer Research

2231 Crystal Drive

Suite 200

Arlington, VA 22202

Tel: (703)302-1503

Fax: (703)302-1568

Email: info@focr.org

Internet: http://www.focr.org



Cancer.Net

American Society of Clinical Oncology

2318 Mill Road

Suite 800

Alexandria, VA 22314

Tel: (571)483-1780

Fax: (571)366-9537

Tel: (888)651-3038

Email: contactus@cancer.net

Internet: http://www.cancer.net/patient



Wellness Community

919 18th Street N.W.

Suite 54

Washington, DC 20006

Tel: (202)659-9709

Fax: (202)659-9301

Tel: (888)793-9355

Email: help@thewellnesscommunity.org

Internet: http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org



Lance Armstrong Foundation

PO Box 161550

Austin, TX 78716-1150

Tel: (512)236-8820

Fax: (512)236-8482

Tel: (866)235-7205

Internet: http://www.livestrong.org



BeatSarcoma

143 28th Street

Suite 4

San Francisco, CA 94131

Tel: (415)651-4473

Email: info@beatsarcoma.org

For a Complete Report

This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. ® (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be obtained for a small fee by visiting the NORD website. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational treatments (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, see http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html

The information provided in this report is not intended for diagnostic purposes. It is provided for informational purposes only. NORD recommends that affected individuals seek the advice or counsel of their own personal physicians.

It is possible that the title of this topic is not the name you selected. Please check the Synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and Disorder Subdivision(s) covered by this report

This disease entry is based upon medical information available through the date at the end of the topic. Since NORD's resources are limited, it is not possible to keep every entry in the Rare Disease Database completely current and accurate. Please check with the agencies listed in the Resources section for the most current information about this disorder.

For additional information and assistance about rare disorders, please contact the National Organization for Rare Disorders at P.O. Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813-1968; phone (203) 744-0100; web site www.rarediseases.org or email orphan@rarediseases.org

Last Updated:  5/9/2008

Copyright  2002 National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.