What is Ewings Sarcoma?

Ewing sarcoma is a rare cancer that can form in bone and soft tissue. It belongs to a group of tumours known as the Ewing Sarcoma Family of Tumours.

The Ewing family of tumours includes:

• Ewing sarcoma – a form of primary bone cancer
• Extraosseous Ewing sarcoma – a tumour that starts in soft-tissue rather than the bone
• Askin tumour – Ewing sarcoma that starts in the chest wall
• Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour – Ewing sarcoma where the cells look like nerve cells when studied under the microscope

The majority of Ewing sarcomas (around 85%) start in the bones, but they can also start in the soft tissues as well.

Ewing sarcomas is the second most commonly diagnosed primary bone cancer in young people, after osteosarcoma.

Ewing sarcoma can start anywhere in body, but more often it is found in the pelvis, the chest or in the bones of the legs.

Ewing sarcoma can spread to other parts of the body

Ewing sarcoma can quickly spread to other parts of the body and can sometimes come back after treatment (recur), and so patients require treatment to the whole body (systemic) as well as the site of the primary tumour.

Tumour cells can break away from the primary tumour and enter the blood supply or lymphatic system. These tumour cells can travel to other parts of the body where they can settle and form new tumours called secondary tumours or metastases. The tumour cells can also spread through the bone as the tumour grows.

The most common sites for secondary tumours are:

• the lungs
• other bones
• the bone marrow

Very rarely the cancer can spread to the lymph nodes, liver or brain.

Treatment is usually a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Wherever in the body Ewing sarcoma starts, the treatment is the same.