What Are the Risk Factors for Ewings Sarcoma and Can It Be Prevented?
There are approximately 250 new cases of Ewing’s Sarcoma — primarily involving children older than 10 and young adolescents — diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Although it can occur in younger children and in adults, it rarely does; slightly more boys than girls get the disease. For unknown reasons, it occurs most often in whites and is extremely rare in African-Americans or Asian-Americans. Unlike with adult cancers, the risk of most childhood cancers, including Ewing’s sarcoma, cannot be affected by making lifestyle changes. Nor has Ewing’s sarcoma been associated with any environmental risks such as exposure to chemicals or radiation. There are genetic changes that appear in the cells of people with Ewing’s sarcoma. But these happen after birth and are not inherited from the parents. Because there are no known risk factors that can be changed and because there is no screening test that can effectively identify someone who might develop this cancer, there is no way to prevent it.
