Ewing Sarcoma Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Ewing sarcoma cancer is cancer that attacks the bones or tissues around the bones such as cartilage or nerves. This cancer is a rare cancer.
Usually, this cancer attacks children to young adults around 10-20 years. However, adults can also get Ewing’s sarcoma. This cancer is also more common in men than women.
Ewing’s sarcoma cancer is divided into several types, namely:
- Ewing bone cancer. It’s called that because it appears on bones, such as the pelvis, ribs, and collarbone.
- Ewing extraosseous sarcoma cancer. This type generally appears in soft tissue such as cartilage.
- Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor. Appears in nerve tissue and can generally occur in various organs of the body.
- Askin’s tumor. This Ewing sarcoma appears on the chest.
This cancer has a high chance of curing before it spreads. This cancer can also recur.
Symptom
Ewing’s sarcoma cancer usually attacks the bones in the pelvis or pelvis (which is the most common part), thighs, hands, ribs, and spine.
Symptoms that appear include:
- bone pain that gets worse with time
- bone pain is worse at night
- swollen
- fever
- often feel tired
- weight loss for no apparent reason
- stiffness in the affected area
- bones are weaker and break easily for no apparent reason
- limping because of leg pain
Reason
As with most cancers, the cause of Ewing’s sarcoma is still not known with certainty. However, experts believe that this cancer does not run in families.
Until now, research has also found that this cancer is not related to radiation, chemicals and other environments. Possible genetic mutation after birth that causes Ewing’s sarcoma cancer. Another allegation is that this cancer is a secondary cancer from other cancer patients.
Diagnosis
Doctors usually find Ewing’s sarcoma when the patient has a fracture. It is difficult to determine the diagnosis of this cancer because Ewing’s sarcoma cancer is a rare type of cancer. In addition, the symptoms also resemble other diseases.
In the process of determining the diagnosis, the doctor will ask about symptoms and medical history and perform a physical examination. Investigations that will also be carried out include blood tests, X-rays, MRI, CT scans, PET scans, bone scans, and bone biopsies.
Treatment
Therapy or treatment that can be done to treat Ewing’s sarcoma cancer is a combination of:
- cancer removal surgery
- chemotherapy
- radiotherapy
The stages of the procedure usually start with chemotherapy to reduce the size of the cancer. After that, surgery was performed. Then, chemotherapy is resumed to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Meanwhile, radiotherapy is performed before and after surgery. However, this method can also be used when surgery is not possible.