Epidemiology of sarcomas: who is affected?

Soft tissue sarcomas: questions of location and age

The frequency of soft tissue sarcomas increases with age: these tumors develop mainly in adults around the age of 50, but may occur at any age, and 10% of patients are children and adolescents.

Certain types of sarcoma are more prevalent among patients in specific age ranges. For example:

• rhabdomyosarcoma occurs most frequently in children
• synovial sarcoma in young adults
• liposarcoma in adults between the ages of 40 and 50
• leiomyosarcoma in the elderly
• Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) account for 10% of cases of sarcoma and less than 1% of all malignant digestive tumors. The average age of patients is 60 to 65.

Bone sarcomas: young people are most affected

• Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor, but overall remains rare (150 new patients per year in France, 0.2% of cancer cases overall and 10% of sarcoma cases). It affects mainly children and young male adults (10-20 years of age), but may occur at any age.
• Ewing sarcoma is also rare (100 new patients each year in France). It affects mainly children and adolescents, particularly between the ages of 5 and 9 for girls and 10 and 14 for boys, as well as adults under the age of 30.
• Chondrosarcoma affects mainly adults between the ages of 30 and 60.