Genital Soft Tissue Sarcomas

During recent decades more details regarding the pathology of gynecological sarcomas have become known; this is reflected in the detailed classification of uterine sarcomas in Table 13.1, taken from the interesting review on the pathology of uterine sarcomas by Clement and Scully (1981). However, for the gynecologist and radiotherapist working in the hospital it has become more difficult to classify individual cases according to such systems or schemes. Nevertheless, it appears important to discover specific details about the characteristics of different subtypes of uterine sarcomas, especially as this might have therapeutic consequences. Following the classification of Table 13.1, this review will focus on the three most frequently observed subtypes of uterine sarcomas: leiomyosarcomas, endometrial stromal sarcomas, and mixed mullerian or mesodermal sarcomas or tumors, the latter including the adenosarcomas.