Smooth muscle plays a role in supporting the network of blood vessels and organs in the body that are hollow, such as the stomach, intestines and bladder. This muscular work is involuntary or works unconsciously, and moves on various stimuli. Just like other body parts, smooth muscle can also be affected by cancer.
Examples of the work of smooth muscle, which is when you chew food, the smooth muscle in the salivary glands will drain saliva into the mouth. This was done to help the processing of food in the mouth. Another example is intestinal contraction to digest food. If there is an abnormality in smooth muscle, without fast and proper handling, the work of smooth muscle can be disrupted. This will certainly affect various important functions of the body's organs.
Know Leiomyosarcoma Muscle Cancer Plain
One of the deadly diseases that can attack smooth muscle is leiomyosarcoma or also called LMS. Leiomyosarcoma is a cancer that arises because of the growth of abnormal smooth muscle cells. Most people with this disease are aged over 50 years.
In the classification of disease, leiomyosarcoma belongs to the group of soft tissue sarcomas (fat, nerves, muscles, blood, and lymph). Some parts of the body that most often become the site of growth of leiomyosarcoma, namely the uterus, digestive tract (especially the stomach), and legs. Until now, the factors that cause smooth muscle cancer is not known with certainty.
In some cases, leiomyosarcoma can occur in parts of the body that have had cancer or have received radiotherapy. This cancer is generally only formed up to ten years after radiotherapy. In addition, exposure to chemicals from plastic-making materials (vinyl chloride), dioxins, and several types of herbicides, is thought to increase the risk of developing sarcomas.
Symptoms and Treatment of Leiomyosarcoma
Leiomyosarcoma sufferers in the early stages often do not feel any symptoms. New symptoms are felt when this condition is in an advanced stage. The following are symptoms that can be experienced by leiomyosarcoma sufferers:
- Bloated stomach or upper abdomen feels uncomfortable.
- Swelling under the skin.
- Pain and swelling in an area of the body.
- Fever, fatigue, and weight loss.
- Women entering menopause experience bleeding. While women who have not yet menopause can experience menstrual changes.
The diagnosis of this disease is usually adjusted to the location of the disorder. Determination of benign or malignant tumors is usually done through biopsy. In addition, doctors can also do an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI to find out the type of tumor, its size, location, and spread.
The best way to treat leiomyosarcoma is through surgical removal when the tumor is still small in size. In a number of cases, patients are required to carry out routine checks after surgery. If the cancer reappears, generally the doctor will advise the patient to undergo repeat treatment, whether through radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, or other treatments.
Do not delay the examination to the doctor, if you feel unusual symptoms in the stomach or other body parts. The sooner it is detected, the faster treatment will be done on smooth muscle cancer or leiomyosarcoma. Thus, the success rate of treatment will be even greater.
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