KnotesFree Orthopaedic & FRCS notes, viva stations and higher order SBAs

Ewing sarcoma

High YieldApplied Basic SciencesthinKbox SBA

Definition

A malignant small round-cell tumour of bone and soft tissue, usually affecting children and adolescents.

Common sites

  • Diaphysis of long bones
  • Pelvis
  • Ribs

Clinical features

  • Pain and swelling
  • Fever and raised inflammatory markers may mimic infection
  • Constitutional symptoms in some patients

Imaging

  • Permeative destructive lesion
  • Layered or onion-skin periosteal reaction may occur
  • MRI for local staging
  • CT chest for metastases

Diagnosis

  • Biopsy through a specialist tumour unit pathway
  • Small round blue cells with characteristic translocation, commonly EWSR1-related

Treatment

  • Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
  • Local control by surgery and/or radiotherapy
  • Adjuvant chemotherapy

Prognosis

Depends on metastatic disease, tumour site, size and response to treatment.

Diagram

Ewing sarcoma

Written/reviewed by Kishore Puthezhath

Professor of Orthopaedics and Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon

FRCS (Tr & Orth) revision resource

Reviewed: September 2026