Sarcoma Awareness Month 2025: Know, Act and Advocate - Dr Sunil Chopade
Every year, JULY is recognised as Sarcoma Awareness Month. This year, July 2025, the theme is "Know. Act. Advocate". It means to know what is normal, act on any symptoms, and advocate for diagnosis and treatment.
Sarcoma is often called the “forgotten cancer” because of its rarity and the lack of public understanding compared to other cancers.
Sarcoma communities across the world come together this month to raise awareness of this rare disease, help people understand sarcomas, raise funds, and help sarcoma patients fight this aggressive disease.
What is Sarcoma?
Sarcomas are rare types of cancers which originate in the bones and soft tissues, such as muscles, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and fibrous tissues. Based on origin, sarcomas can be bone sarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas.
Soft tissue sarcoma is further classified based on cell of origin and genetic changes, up to 100 types. The incidence in the adult population is <1%, while it reaches up to 10 to 15% in children. Mostly encountered sarcomas are Ewing’s sarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcomas in children.
Where and How Sarcoma Manifests
Sarcoma may occur in all parts of the body including extremities, back, shoulder, chest wall, spine, or abdominal cavity.
The symptoms of sarcoma vary from incidental detection of swelling in upper or lower extremities following trauma, painful swelling resulting in limitation of movements, and organ-specific symptoms.
Diagnosis and Imaging
The diagnosis of sarcoma is confirmed by biopsy from the swelling along with imaging such as X-rays, CT scan, MRI, and PET-CT.
Treatment Options
Treatment includes a multimodality approach such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Early diagnosis is crucial, as sarcomas can be cured with prompt intervention.
Whenever detected at a later stage, chemotherapy and targeted therapy are used to control the disease.
Role of Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is being evaluated in multiple cancers and has shown promising results. Current research is limited for the use of immunotherapy in soft tissue sarcoma except in a few exceptional cases.
Global Community Efforts
Globally, various sarcoma communities including survivors are actively working on creating awareness and helping patients gain access to cancer treatment.
Conclusion
To conclude, early detection and diagnosis help in achieving cure. Do consult your doctor or oncologist in case of symptoms.
Dr Sunil R Chopade (MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO) is a Consultant Medical Oncologist &and Bone Marrow Transplant Physician at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai having over 8 years of experience in the field of Medical Oncology. He specialises in Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Head and neck cancers, Ovarian cancers, Urological cancers, Gastrointestinal cancer, Blood Cancers - Lymphomas, Multiple myeloma, Leukaemia, Precision Oncology, Chemotherapy, Biological therapy - Molecular targeted therapy, Immunotherapy, Stem cell transplant therapy.