Sarcoma

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Stages

Stage describes how much cancer there is and how far it has spread. For soft tissue sarcoma, stages generally range from 1 to 4. A lower stage generally means the cancer is more limited. A higher stage means it is more advanced.

Healthcare professionals determine the stage using several pieces of information, commonly summarized as TNM plus grade. TNM stands for:

  • T: The size of the primary tumor.
  • N: Whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
  • M: Whether the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.

Staging isn't identical for every sarcoma. The tumor's location and type matter, and bone sarcomas have their own staging considerations. So a person's sarcoma can't necessarily be assigned a stage from tumor size alone.

Both tumor grade and stage help the care team understand the likely outcome of your condition, called prognosis, and determine the most appropriate treatment.

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Diagnosis & treatmentSurvival rates
Aug. 19, 2026

Living with sarcoma?

Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Sarcoma support group on Mayo Clinic Connect, a patient community.

Sarcoma Discussions

micky76
Chondrosarcoma: Anyone have above the knee amputation?

1 Replies Thu, Aug 13, 2026

Colleen Young, Connect Director
Diagnosed with sarcoma? Let's share

1083 Replies Mon, Aug 10, 2026

lessjudd1976
What treatments did you have for angiosarcoma?

7 Replies Mon, Aug 10, 2026

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  1. Ferri FF. Sarcoma. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2025. Elsevier; 2025. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  2. DeVita VT Jr, et al., eds. Soft tissue sarcomas. In: DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 12th ed. ProQuest Ebook Central. Wolters Kluwer; 2023. Accessed Aug. 5, 2026.
  3. DeVita VT Jr, et al., eds. Sarcomas of bone. In: DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 12th ed. ProQuest Ebook Central. Wolters Kluwer; 2023. Accessed Aug. 5, 2026.
  4. Soft tissue sarcoma. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/guidelines-detail?category=1&id=1464. July 23, 2026.
  5. Bone cancer. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/guidelines-detail?category=1&id=1418. July 21, 2026.
  6. Primary bone cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/bone/bone-fact-sheet. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  7. ESTRO clinical practice guideline on radiotherapy for adult soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities and trunk wall — Endorsed by ASTRO. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2026; doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2026.111535.
  8. Noebauer-Huhmann IM, et al. Soft tissue tumor imaging in adults: Whole-body staging in sarcoma, non-malignant entities requiring special algorithms, pitfalls and special imaging aspects. Guidelines 2024 from the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology (ESSR). European Radiology. 2025; doi:10.1007/s00330-024-10897-z.
  9. Soft tissue sarcoma treatment (PDQ) — Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/hp/adult-soft-tissue-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  10. Ewing sarcoma and undifferentiated small round cell sarcomas of bone and soft tissue treatment (PDQ) – Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/bone/hp/ewing-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  11. Osteosarcoma and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of bone treatment (PDQ) — Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/bone/hp/osteosarcoma-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  12. Stages of soft tissue sarcomas. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/detection-diagnosis-staging/staging.html. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  13. Survival rates for soft tissue sarcomas. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  14. Prognostic factors and survival rates for Ewing sarcoma. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/ewing-tumor/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.
  15. Survival rates for bone cancer. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/bone-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-statistics.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.
  16. Cancer stat facts: Bone and joint cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/bones.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.

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