Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer growth known as liposarcoma, which affects the body’s soft and fatty tissue.

Malignant liposarcoma is extremely uncommon, representing just one per cent of all cancers, according to Dr. Zane Cohen, the physician who is treating Ford at Mt. Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto.

The type of cancer is found in the body’s fatty and soft tissues, as well as blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue.

The cause of malignant liposarcoma is currently unknown.

Survival

Cohen said he could not give an estimate on the percentage of patients diagnosed with this type of cancer who survive five years.

Dr. Aly Abdulla, president of the Academy of Medicine Ottawa said that the cancer is very rare, with studies that show it affects two people in one million.

Dr. Jeffrey Rothenstein, an oncologist at Lakeridge Health, said treatments can vary wildly depending on the patient.

“Sarcoma is really not a cancer that is treated in any way with a cookie-cutter approach. It is a very sort of unique tumour in each individual, and that is why you have very specialized teams looking after these patients.”

Treatment

Cohen said Ford will undergo two rounds of chemotherapy to “eradicate” the tumour, which is approximately 12 centimetres by 12 centimetres in size.

The first round will last three days, and is scheduled to begin in 48 hours. Eighteen days after the first round, Ford will return to hospital to begin a second round of chemotherapy.

Cohen did not rule out future radiation treatments or possibly, surgery, but said he is “optimistic” about the mayor’s prognosis. He also said that Ford’s type of sarcoma is more responsive to chemotherapy than others.

Abdulla said successful rate of treatment depends on the cell types in the cancerous mass.

He points to a “very high” success rate if there are “well-differentiated” cells within the growth.

“When they become less differentiated, a little bit more fuzzy … they turn into pleomorphic, which means unusual shape,” Abdulla said. “And then the percentage of success drops.”

Personal health not a factor

Rothenstein said that Ford’s type of cancer is not linked to personal health factors.

“In terms of lifestyle, diet … those are really not well-associated,” he said.

Ford was admitted to hospital last week after complaining about abdominal pains, which he had reportedly been suffering from for at least three months prior to seeking medical attention.

After revealing Ford’s diagnosis on Wednesday, Cohen characterized the tumour as “aggressive, and said it may have be growing over a period of as long as three years.

He added that it was likely the presence of dead or “necrotic” tissue within the mass that began causing Ford physical pain.

With files from CTV Medical Specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip