The more than 170 types of sarcoma come in a “great variety,” according to Lee Cranmer, MD, PhD, a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center oncologist and researcher.
One of them, chondrosarcoma, is a cancer of the cartilage, the firm-yet-flexible connective tissue that makes up our noses and ears and protects and connects our bones, allowing our skeletons to move smoothly. Sharks, whose skeletons are made completely of cartilage, can suffer from chondrosarcomas, as can humans, including Cranmer’s patient, Mark Schuck, a retired fisheries biologist.
