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Sarcoma, Orbital

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

Synonyms

Malignant mesenchymal tumor of orbit

Definition

Sarcomas are malignant soft tissue tumors of mesenchymal origin. Derived from the Greek root word sarx, meaning “flesh,” the term sarcoma refers to a variety of malignancies derived from soft tissues, including cartilage (chondrosarcoma), bone (osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma), connective tissue (fibrous histiocytoma, alveolar sarcoma), muscle (leiomyosarcoma), and fat (liposarcoma). Sarcomas are rare but aggressive tumors and may affect the orbit.

Etiology

A variety of sarcomas may affect the orbit, all of which are rare, accounting for less than 1% of all orbital malignant tumors. Orbital sarcomas include malignant tumors of bone (osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma), connective tissue (fibrous histiocytoma, alveolar sarcoma), muscle (leiomyosarcoma), and fat (liposarcoma).

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor overall, but orbital involvement is rare, and these comprise only 0.5–1% of orbital tumors. Osteosarcoma arises...

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References

  • Black E, Smith BC (eds) (2012) Smith and Nesi’s ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery, 3rd edn. Springer, New York. 1330 p

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  • Karcioglu ZA (2014) Orbital tumors: diagnosis and treatment, 2nd edn. Springer, New York. pp 72, 74, 99, 166–168

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  • Perry JD, Singh AD (eds) (2013) Clinical ophthalmic oncology: orbital tumors. Springer, New York

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Weill Cornell Medical College, 1305 York Avenue, New York, 10021, NY, USA

    Alexander Port & Gary Lelli

Authors
  1. Alexander Port
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  2. Gary Lelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Port .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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Port, A., Lelli, G. (2017). Sarcoma, Orbital. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1320-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1320-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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