Prognostic and therapeutic factors influencing the clinical outcome of metastatic Ewing sarcoma family of tumors: A retrospective report from the Japan Ewing Sarcoma Study Group

Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021 Mar;68(3):e28844. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28844. Epub 2020 Dec 19.

Abstract

Background: The prognosis of patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) remains poor.

Procedure: We retrospectively analyzed 57 patients diagnosed with metastatic ESFT between 2000 and 2018 to identify prognostic and therapeutic factors affecting the clinical outcome.

Results: The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of the entire cohort was 46.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.0-59.4%). Treatment-related death was not observed. Multivariate analysis identified stem cell transplantation (SCT), response to first-line chemotherapy, and bone metastasis as independent risk factors for OS. Objective response rate to first-line chemotherapy was 65.1% in the 43 evaluable patients. There was no significant difference in the response to different types of first-line chemotherapy. Among patients with lung metastasis alone, the 3-year OS rate was higher in 13 patients who received local treatment than in four who did not, although the difference was not significant.

Conclusions: One possible reason for the high OS rates was the absence of treatment-related mortality even in patients receiving SCT, which could be attributed to advances in the management of post-SCT complications. Novel first-line chemotherapy strategies need to be established to improve the disease status prior to SCT in a higher proportion of patients.

Keywords: Ewing sarcoma family of tumors; chemotherapy; metastatic; stem cell transplantation.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Bone Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Bone Neoplasms / pathology
  • Bone Neoplasms / therapy
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / mortality*
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Lung Neoplasms / secondary
  • Lung Neoplasms / therapy
  • Male
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / mortality*
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / pathology
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / therapy
  • Survival Rate
  • Young Adult