WhatIsEwing’sSarcoma?MedicallyreviewedbyYaminiRanchod,Ph.D.,M.S.—WrittenbyMarjorieHecht—UpdatedonJune9,2020SignsandsymptomsCausesRiskfactorsDiagnosisTreatmentOutlookIsthiscommon?Ewing’ssarcomaisararecanceroustumorofboneorsofttissue.Itoccursmostlyinyoungpeople.Overall,itaffects1outofevery1millionAmericans.Butforadolescentsaged10to19years,thisjumpstoabout10casesper1millionAmericansinthisagegroup.Thismeansthatabout200casesarediagnosedintheUnitedStateseachyear.ThesarcomaisnamedfortheAmericandoctorJamesEwing,whofirstdescribedthetumorin1921.Itisn’tclearwhatcausesEwing’s,sotherearenoknownmethodsofprevention.Theconditionistreatable,and,ifcaughtearly,fullrecoveryispossible.Keepreadingtolearnmore.WhatarethesignsorsymptomsofEwing’ssarcoma?ThemostcommonsymptomofEwing’ssarcomaispainorswellingintheareaofthetumor.Somepeoplemaydevelopavisiblelumponthesurfaceoftheirskin.Theaffectedareamayalsobewarmtothetouch.Othersymptomsinclude:lossofappetitefeverweightlossfatiguegeneralunwellfeeling(malaise)abonethatbreakswithoutaknownreasonanemiaTumorstypicallyforminthearms,legs,pelvis,orchest.Theremaybesymptomsspecifictothelocationofthetumor.Forexample,youmayexperienceshortnessofbreathifthetumorislocatedinyourchest.WhatcausesEwing’ssarcoma?TheexactcauseofEwing’ssarcomaisn’tclear.Itisn’tinherited,butitcanberelatedtonon-inheritedchangesinspecificgenesthathappenduringaperson’slifetime.Whenchromosomes11and12exchangegeneticmaterial,itactivatesanovergrowthofcells.ThismayleadtothedevelopmentofEwing’ssarcoma.ResearchtodeterminetheparticulartypeofcellinwhichEwing’ssarcomaoriginatesisongoing.Who’satriskforEwing’ssarcoma?AlthoughEwing’ssarcomacandevelopatanyage,morethan50percentofpeoplewiththeconditionarediagnosedinadolescence.Themedianageofthoseaffectedis15.IntheUnitedStates,Ewing’ssarcomaisninetimesmorelikelytodevelopinCaucasiansthaninAfrican-Americans.TheAmericanCancerSocietyreportsthatthecancerrarelyaffectsotherracialgroups.Malesmayalsobemorelikelytodevelopthecondition.Inastudyof1,426peopleaffectedbyEw