Pediatric Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck: A retrospective survival analysis

To determine the demographics, treatment modalities, and overall survival of pediatric Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck.

The National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to identify cases of pediatric Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck between 1973 and 2015. Additional variables collected included age, gender, ethnicity, tumor grade, staging, treatment modality, and follow-up time. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated and overall survival was calculated.

One hundred and twenty-seven cases of pediatric Ewing sarcoma were identified. The majority of patients were male (52.8%), white (88.2%), and non-Hispanic (75.6%), and the mean age at diagnosis was 10.5 years. The most common tumor sites were bones and joints of the skull and face (45.5%), followed by soft tissue of the head, face, and neck (25.2%), followed by the mandible (13.4%). Most patients (69.2%) had some type of surgery, 70.0% received radiation, and 92.1% received chemotherapy as part of their treatment. Overall 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival was 91.1%, 72.9%, and 68.2%, respectively. There was no significant difference in survival based on patient gender, age, tumor location, radiation, or chemotherapy treatment.

This study demonstrates that pediatric patients with Ewing sarcoma of the head and neck most commonly have stage II disease, no distant metastasis, and are treated with chemotherapy, with or without radiation. One, five, and ten-year survival are 91.1%, 72.9%, and 68.2%, respectively, and age, gender, and radiation do not seem to affect prognosis.