RADIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF EXTRASKELETAL EWING SARCOMA

The radiological features of extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma were reviewed in 22 patients whose average age was 22 years. Tumours were located in the extremities (11 patients), abdomen or pelvis (six patients) and the chest (five patients). The tumours ranged in size from 2 cm to 20 cm, were mainly well circumscribed and showed no evidence of calcification prior to treatment. Most tumours (13 out of 14) were of low attenuation or contained areas of lower attenuation than muscle on computed tomographic examination, and in six out of seven patients studied by ultrasound the tumours were hypoechoic or partly anechoic, No distinctive post-contrast medium enhancement pattern on CT examination (11 patients) or angiographic features (three patients) were evident. Tumour haemorrhage was a frequent microscopic finding and changes consistent with this were present in one patient on magnetic resonance imaging examination. Distant metastases or local recurrence developed in 13 patients with lung being the most frequent metastatic site (eight patients). Although its radiological features are non-specific, extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of noncalcified soft-tissue tumours especially in a young age group and where located in an extremity or paravertebral region of the chest.