Dr. Dimosthenis on Prognosis Factors in Ewing Sarcoma

A retrospective analysis, presented at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) meeting, looked at data from 1207 patients with previously untreated Ewing sarcoma registered in the Euro-EWING99 trial (NCT00020566) from between 1998 and 2009.

Researchers confirmed known prognostic factors, which demonstrated that patients with pelvic Ewing sarcoma have poorer local control and poorer overall survival, and the same is the case for patients with primary metastases with large tumors.

However, the analysis also determined prognosis factors not previously known, says Andreou.

Researchers found that modifications of treatment, either due to toxicity or other factors, resulted in worse local control and worse overall survival probability. Surgical factors also had some influence, says Andreou. For instance, patients presenting with a pathological fracture of the bone had poorer overall survival, but not the worst local control. That would suggest that the pathological fracture is a marker for an aggressive disease, he says.