Liposarcoma

Liposarcomas are the most common subtype of soft tissue sarcomas, accounting for at least 20% of all sarcomas in adults. Soft tissue sarcomas are rare neoplasms with over 150 different histological subtypes or forms. Liposarcomas arise from the precursor lipoblasts of the adipocytes (i.e. fat cells) in adipose (i.e. fat) tissues. Adipose tissues are distributed throughout the body, including such sites as the deep and more superficial layers of subcutaneous tissues as well as in less surgically accessible sites like the retroperitoneum (i.e. space behind the abdominal cavity) and visceral fat inside the abdominal cavity. All liposarcomas consist of at least some cells that bear a resemblance to fat cells when examined for their histopathologic appearances under a microscope. However, the liposarcomas do have several forms based on differences in their clinical presentations (e.g. ages, gender preferences, sites of tumors, signs, and symptoms), severities (i.e. potential to invade local tissues, recur after surgical removal, and metastasize to distal tissues), genetic abnormalities, prognoses, and preferred treatment regimens. The World Health Organization in 2020 reclassified liposarcomas into five more or less distinct forms: 1) atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma (WD-LPS); 2) dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DD-LPS); 3) myxoid liposarcoma; 4) pleomorphic liposarcoma; and 5) myxoid pleomorphic liposarcoma. (Pleomorphic indicates the presence of cells that have abnormal and often large variations in their size and shape and/or the size and shape of their nuclei.) While liposarcoma forms are classified as being aggressive and malignant or, in the case of the atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma, as relatively non-aggressive and benign, all five liposarcoma forms can infiltrate locally to injure nearby tissues and organs, occur in surgically inaccessible sites adjacent to vital organs (e.g. the retroperitoneum), recur after surgical removal, and progress to life-threatening diseases.