General Information About Ewing's Sarcoma
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
It is a malignant cancer that starts in or around the bones, whose cells appear small, round, and blue under a microscope (small round cell tumor), and which tends to spread rapidly.
It generally occurs in children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 20. It is most commonly found in the long bones of the legs (femur, tibia), the pelvis, and the ribs (chest wall).
Yes, this is the greatest danger of the disease. It starts with insidious bone pains in youths that are often attributed to sports or growing. Unlike growing pains, this pain generally increases while resting and sleeping at night.
Progressively increasing local pain in the area where the tumor is located, a swelling in that area that is visible from the outside and feels warm/tender to the touch, a mild fever, and unexplained fatigue.
On an X-ray, the outer layer of the bone appears to lift in layers, like an onion skin. An MRI is taken to measure the size of the tumor, and a definitive diagnosis is made in pathology after taking a biopsy from the bone.
Treatment is always multidisciplinary. First, systemic chemotherapy is given to shrink the cancer and eliminate spreading (metastasis). Then, the tumoral area is surgically excised with a wide margin (sometimes replaced with a prosthesis). Radiotherapy may be applied after surgery.
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