A rare malignant form of bone cancer. It arises in a large bone, usually the femur, tibia, humerus, or a pelvic bone, and spreads to other areas at an early stage. The condition is most common in children aged 10–15. An affected bone is painful and tender. It may also become weakened and fracture easily. Other symptoms include weight loss, fever, and anaemia.
The sarcoma is diagnosed by X-rays and a biopsy.
If cancer is found, the whole skeleton is examined by X-rays and radionuclide scanning, and the lungs viewed by CT scanning, to determine if, and how far, the cancer has spread.
Treatment is with radiotherapy and anticancer drugs.
If the cancer has not spread, the outlook is good.
a malignant tumour of bone occurring in children and young adults. Distinguished from *osteosarcoma by J. Ewing in 1921, it commonly arises in the femur but is liable to spread to other bones and to the lung. It usually presents with pain, often associated with fever and *leucocytosis. The tumour is sensitive to radiotherapy, and systemic therapy with *cytotoxic drugs has greatly improved its prognosis. [J. Ewing (1866–1943), US pathologist]
A cancer of connective tissue, bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, nerve sheath, blood vessels or lymph system.... sarcoma
A cancer or tumour of the blood and/or lymphatic vessel walls. It usually appears as blue-violet to brownish skin blotches or lumps. Before the appearance of AIDS, it was rare in the developed world. AIDSassociated Kaposi’s sarcoma is much more aggressive than the earlier form of the disease and is associated with Human Herpes Virus 8.... kaposi’s sarcoma
An uncommon but very malignant cancer of the bone in children and young adults, the condition was ?rst identi?ed as being di?erent from OSTEOSARCOMA by Dr J Ewing in 1921. It usually occurs in the limbs or pelvis and soon spreads to other parts of the body. Treatment is by RADIOTHERAPY and CYTOTOXIC drugs. Since the use of the latter, the number of patients who survive for ?ve years or more has much improved.... ewing’s sarcoma