Histopathological Spectrum of Soft Tissue Tumors in a Teaching Hospital

Background: Soft tissue tumor is defined as mesenchymal proliferation that occurs in extra skeletal non epithelial tissue of the body excluding the viscera, covering of brain and the lymphoreticular system. Aims: 1. To study the histopathological features of soft tissue tumors. 2. To study the relative frequency of benign and malignant cases. 3. To estimate the age and sex distribution. Method: The present study comprised of all soft tissue tumors, received in the Department of Pathology. Retrospective study was undertaken for a period of 5 years starting from October 2009 to October 2014 Result: Benign soft tissue tumors constituted 92.2% of all the cases whereas malignant formed 5%. Soft tissue tumours in general had a slight male preponderance. The commonest benign tumor was adipocytic tumor and liposarcoma was the commonest malignant tumor. Conclusion: The diagnosis and management of soft tissue tumours require a team perspective. A careful gross examination of the specimen and adequate sampling of the tumor is essential. Special stains, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, molecular genetic methods are helpful in addition to the routine Haematoxylin and Eosin for the proper diagnosis of soft tissue tumors.