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. 2010 Aug 18;102(16):1272-83.
doi: 10.1093/jnci/djq278. Epub 2010 Jul 23.

Long-term survivors of childhood Ewing sarcoma: report from the childhood cancer survivor study

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Long-term survivors of childhood Ewing sarcoma: report from the childhood cancer survivor study

Jill P Ginsberg et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. .

Abstract

Background: The survival of Ewing sarcoma (ES) patients has improved since the 1970s but is associated with considerable future health risks.

Methods: The study population consisted of long-term (> or =5-year) survivors of childhood ES diagnosed before age 21 from 1970 to 1986. Cause-specific mortality was evaluated in eligible survivors (n = 568), and subsequent malignant neoplasms, chronic health conditions, infertility, and health status were evaluated in the subset participating in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (n = 403). Outcomes were compared with the US population and sibling control subjects (n = 3899). Logistic, Poisson, or Cox proportional hazards models, with adjustments for sex, age, race/ethnicity, and potential intrafamily correlation, were used. Statistical tests were two-sided.

Results: Cumulative mortality of ES survivors was 25.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 21.1 to 28.9) 25 years after diagnosis. The all-cause standardized mortality ratio was 13.3 (95% CI = 11.2 to 15.8) overall, 23.1 (95% CI = 17.6 to 29.7) for women, and 10.0 (95% CI = 7.9 to 12.5) for men. The nonrecurrence-progression non-external cause standardized mortality ratio (subsequent non-ES malignant neoplasms and cardiac and pulmonary causes potentially attributable to ES treatment) was 8.7 (95% CI = 6.2 to 12.0). Twenty-five years after ES diagnosis, cumulative incidence of subsequent malignant neoplasms, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers, was 9.0% (95% CI = 5.8 to 12.2). Compared with siblings, survivors had an increased risk of severe, life-threatening, or disabling chronic health conditions (relative risk = 6.0, 95% CI = 4.1 to 9.0). Survivors had lower fertility rates (women: P = .005; men: P < .001) and higher rates of moderate to extreme adverse health status (P < .001).

Conclusion: Long-term survivors of childhood ES exhibit excess mortality and morbidity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of Ewing sarcoma (ES) survivors and siblings in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall survival from Kaplan–Meier estimates, with 95% confidence intervals among 5-year survivors of Ewing sarcoma compared with expected survival using age, sex, and year standardized to the US population.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cumulative incidence of mortality attributable to nonrecurrence-progression non-external causes (subsequent non-Ewing sarcoma (ES) malignant neoplasms and cardiac and pulmonary causes) among 5-year survivors of ES, treating death from other causes as competing risk events. A) Mortality for entire ES cohort. B) Mortality by radiation therapy (RT).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMN) and chronic health conditions among 5-year survivors of Ewing sarcoma. A) Cumulative incidence with 95% confidence intervals of SMN (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) with death as a competing risk. B) Cumulative incidence with 95% confidence intervals of chronic health conditions according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3, severity grades (grades 1–5 vs grades 3–5).

References

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