Overview

Ewing's family of tumors (EFT) is a group of cancers that affect the bones or nearby soft tissue. Cancer occurs when cells in the body become abnormal and multiply without control or order. The cells form a growth of tissue, called a tumor. The type of tumors in EFT varies because tumors develop in different places. EFT includes:

• Ewing's tumor of the bones (also called Ewing's sarcoma), the most common type of EFT
  
  
• Extraosseus Ewing's (EOE), a tumor that grows in soft tissues outside the bone
  
  
• Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PPNET), a rare cancer found in the bones and soft tissues, including Askin's tumor, which is a PPNET of the chest wall

EFT of the bone occurs most often in the legs, spine, ribs, or pelvis. EFT of the soft tissue is usually found in the thighs, pelvis, spine, chest, or feet.

Statistics

EFT makes up about 1.4% of all childhood cancers.

EFT is more common among boys than girls. EFT occurs most frequently in white people and is rare in black people in the United States and Africa. These tumors have been reported in Japan but are rare in China. About two-thirds (64%) of all people with EFT are between the ages of 10 and 20. About 15% of EFT cases occur in adults

The five-year relative survival rate (the percentage of people who survive at least five years after the cancer is detected, excluding those who die from other diseases) of people with EFT is 70% for localized cancer (cancer that has not spread) and 20% to 30% for cancer that has metastasized (spread).

Cancer survival statistics should be interpreted with caution. These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of this type of cancer in the United States each year, but the actual risk for a particular individual may differ. It is not possible to tell a person how long he or she will live with EFT. Because the survival statistics are measured in five-year intervals, they may not represent advances made in the treatment or diagnosis of this cancer.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society.

Find out more about basic cancer terms used in this section.