Ewing's sarcoma of the proximal phalanx of the foot: A rare case report

Ewing's sarcoma localized to foot is extremely rare. Local control is mandatory because of the aggressive nature of the tumor. Therapeutic options for these local tumors include neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery.

A 17-year-old female patient presented with a 6-month history of progressive swelling and intermittent pain of the left great toe. Plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an expansile mass that had originated from the proximal phalanx of the great toe and was destructing and surrounding the distal phalanx. Her erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum lactate dehydrogenase levels were slightly elevated. Distant metastasis was not detected. The patient underwent an open biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma. She was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and disarticulation above the metatarsophalangeal joint. She received adjuvant chemotherapy following the operation. The patient died 50 months after the operation as a result of disseminated disease.

The distal phalanx of the foot is an extremely rare site for the development of Ewing's sarcoma. As local control is important to avoid dissemination of the disease, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by amputation or disarticulation of the affected digit and subsequently adjuvant chemotherapy may be favorable modality for increasing the patient's duration of survival. Hippokratia 2015, 19 (1): 82-84.