Ewing sarcoma treatment

The first and most significant of the symptoms is pain in the bone at the site of growth of the tumor node. These can be long tubular bones of the limbs, pelvic bones, ribs, and shoulder blades. The pain intensifies over time, local edema occurs. The temperature of the soft tissues over the pathological focus rises as a result of intensive blood flow. Pathological fractures can occur. As the disease develops, weakness and fatigue appear, weight decreases for no apparent reason, and body temperature steadily rises.

In 20-30% of cases, at the time of contacting an oncologist, patients, in addition to the main tumor node, have metastases in the lymph nodes, liver, bones, lungs, and other organs. Unfortunately, in Ewing’s sarcoma, the absence of metastatic lesions visible on ultrasound, CT, or MRI does not allow to exclude micrometastases that can lead to the recurrence of the disease. In this regard, the therapy of the disease necessarily includes a systemic effect on the body (polychemotherapy).

The general treatment plan for Ewing’s sarcoma is as follows:

• Surgical treatment. The main tumor node is removed. In cases where the bone of one of the limbs is affected, it is advisable to carry out amputation with further prosthetics. This significantly increases the patient’s chances of survival.
• It is prescribed both at the stage of preparation for surgery and in the postoperative period to prevent relapse. The duration of chemotherapy courses is 7-10 months.
• Radiation therapy. It is used in the postoperative period to destroy cancer cells that could remain in the area of ​​the surgical wound. Also, if it is impossible to radically remove the node by surgery, radiation helps to control tumor growth, since Ewing’s sarcoma cells have an increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation.
• Autologous bone marrow transplant. The main side effect of high-dose chemotherapy is the destruction of the patient’s own hematopoietic tissue in addition to cancer cells. The transplantation of a person’s own bone marrow, which is taken before the start of the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs and preserved for the right time, can increase the likelihood of a patient’s survival.

On the one hand, our doctors have at their disposal approximately the same chemotherapeutic drugs. They have access to information about the latest European treatment protocols and the quality of surgical operations is at the level. On the other hand, we do not have corresponding facilities for radiation therapy, nursing patients after bone marrow transplantation is carried out without taking into account the latest developments in the field of medicine, and therefore the mortality rate after it is much higher.

The prescription of medicines of mediocre quality purchased under the slogan “Let’s protect the domestic manufacturer!”, the insufficient level of resuscitation care and the appearance of rehabilitation does not allow the patient to get the best possible result of treatment. When it comes to oncological disease, the patient is often deprived of the opportunity to survive since our patients go into remission less often and overcome the five-year milestone.

ExpertsMedical maintains its own TOP-3 clinics for each type of pathology, where the patient is guaranteed to receive high-quality medical care. With regard to the treatment of Ewing’s sarcoma, first of all I would like to mention the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital (Barcelona, Spain). Here, in the absence of metastases in the patient, it is possible to cure bone marrow sarcoma in 84%, while the global figure is only 70%.

I would also like to mention the Ichilov Clinic (Tel Aviv, Israel), where the best Israeli specialists in the field of pediatric oncology work, and the Shishli Memorial Clinic (Istanbul, Turkey), where a high level of medical care is combined with sincere service and more affordable cost of treatment without compromises with the quality of medical care.