usual and the unusual presentation of Ewing's sarcoma

ABSTRACT

We conducted a review of 14 patients with an established histological diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma in order to analyze the clinical and radiological features of the disease as observed at King Khalid University Hospital and to compare them with those reported in the literature. There were 9 males and 5 females, and the average age was 11 years. All patients but one complained of a painful swelling. Symptoms had lasted an average of 4 months and 50% of the patients had a history of trauma. The radiological appearance varied according to the bone and the part of the bone involved. Only 36% of the patients exhibited the classic appearance. Based on the clinical and radiological findings, the provisional diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma was accurate in 50% of the cases. Other diagnoses included osteomyelitis, trauma, osteosarcoma, and actinomycosis. Ewing's sarcoma may mimic a variety of conditions, and although a combination of painful swelling seen clinically and a destructive lesion shown radiologically in an immature skeleton should confirm the diagnosis, variations from the usual features do occur