Leiomyosarcoma facts for kids

Leiomyosarcoma, also referred to as LMS, is a malignant (cancerous) smooth muscle tumor. It is a benign tumor originating from the same tissue called leiomyoma. It has been believed that leiomyosarcomas do not arise from leiomyomas.

About 1 in 100,000 people gets diagnosed with LMS each year. Leiomyosarcoma is one of the more common types of soft-tissue sarcoma, representing 10 percent to 20 percent of new cases. Leiomyosarcomas can be very unpredictable. They can remain dormant for long periods of time and recur after years. The cancer is aggressive and hardly responds to chemotherapy treatments.

Images for kids

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  Histopathology of leiomyosarcoma shows variable atypia, often with cytoplasmic vacuoles at both ends of nuclei, and frequent mitoses.

See also

In Spanish: Leiomiosarcoma para niños