Ewing sarcoma with intra thoracic and multiple extra thoracic metastases in a young adult male: A case report

Primary chest wall tumors arise from muscle, fat, blood vessels, the nerve sheath, cartilage, or bone of the chest wall. One of the chest wall sarcomas is Ewing Sarcoma (ES), first described in 1921 by James Ewing, which is a highly aggressive bone and soft-tissue cancer. This case report aimed to present an Ewing Sarcoma with intra thoracic and multiple extra thoracic metastases in young adult male patient.

We describe a unique case of metastatic of ewing's sarcoma in a 23-year-old male that showed a mass on the right lower posterior lung with pleural effusion, which was initially thought to be lung tumor that metastasized to the pleura. A thoracic CT scan showed a lobulated soft tissue mass on the right posterolateral thoracic wall, or pleura, with an expansion of soft tissue mass on the rib. Thoracal MRI showed tumor in the posterior right lower thoracic wall area, metastases of the left lateral rib, and right pleural effusion with atelectasis in the right inferior lobe of the lung. The patient also underwent a bone scan, scheduled for palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and consulted to oncology surgeon.

Ewing sarcoma is a small, round, blue-cell mesenchymal malignancy. ES mainly affects children, adolescents, and young adults, with >1.5 cases per million children. Males are slightly more affected than females (sex ratio of 3:2). The definitive diagnosis requires biopsy proof (achieved by fine needle or core biopsy). The most common regions of metastasis are the lungs, pleural cavity, skeletal system, bone marrow, or combinations of these.

The 5-year survival rate is approximately 70 % when there is no metastasis; this rate falls to around 30 % when metastasis is present.