What is the life expectancy for someone diagnosed with sarcoma?

The relative five-year survival rate following a soft-tissue sarcoma diagnosis is 50 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. Survival rates are higher for localized sarcomas, which have an 83 percent survival rate five years after diagnosis. Almost 56 percent of sarcoma diagnoses occur with localized disease.

Sarcomas that spread to distant sites before diagnosis have a poor prognosis of just 16 percent at the five-year mark, notes the American Cancer Society. Sarcomas of the arms and legs have higher five-year survival rates, including 90 percent when diagnosed in stage 1, 81 percent for diagnoses in stage 2 and 56 percent for diagnoses in stage 3.