Leiomyosarcoma Dictionary

leiomyoma: A benign smooth muscle neoplasm that is not premalignant. They can occur in any organ, but the most common forms occur in the uterus, small bowel and the esophagus. The plural form is known as leiomyomata.

leiomyosarcoma (LMS): A rare cancerous tumor of the smooth muscle cells. It is a soft tissue sarcoma, which are cancers that attack soft tissues such as fat and muscle cells.

Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS): A cancer predisposition syndrome associated with soft-tissue sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, osteosarcoma, melanoma and cancer of the colon, pancreas, adrenal cortex and brain. Individuals with LFS are at increased risk for developing multiple primary cancers.

malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH): The most common abnormal growth of soft tissue (sarcoma) in adults. A form of spindle cell carcinoma that is not leiomyosarcoma.

mesenchymal cell: An undifferentiated cell found in mesenchyme and capable of differentiating into various specialized connective tissues.

metastasis: Spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body (e.g., brain, liver).

mixoid leiomyosarcoma: The tumor is composed of interlacing fascicles of spindle cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and blunt ended nuclei (cigar shaped). The appearance of the tumor varies according to the degree of differentiation.

necrosis: The presence of dead tissue in and around the tumor, known in the medical field as necrosis, indicates a poor prognosis for leiomyosarcoma.

neoplasia: Abnormal proliferation of cells in a tissue or organ. A neoplastic growth is called a neoplasm.