Stature and Ewing's sarcoma in childhood

The heights and weights of 291 children with Ewing's sarcoma were compared to population norms in order to explore the association of stature with this cancer. Overall, males were not significantly different from what was expected in either height or weight. When weights for heights of males under 151 cm--the upper limit of the norms--were reviewed, the distribution favored the larger categories. Further analysis of this group revealed that males under 151 cm were, on the average, 2 cm shorter and 0.2 kg lighter than peers. By contrast, females were smaller than expected. The greatest difference was in females under 151 cm; they were, on the average, 4.1 cm shorter and 2.4 kg lighter than their peers. In this series of similarly treated patients, stature at diagnosis did not appear to affect survival. Contrary to previous report, attained height and weight at diagnosis do not appear to be important risk factors for children with Ewing's sarcoma.