This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Time to diagnosis not associated with survival in adolescents with Ewing tumors
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The time to diagnosis of Ewing tumors was long and did not improve over time, but it did not appear to affect survival, surgical outcome or metastasis, according to study results.
“These findings could be used to comfort parents at diagnosis and in expert testimony produced for malpractice claims,” Jean-Francois Brasme, MD, of the epidemiological research unit on Perinatal, Women’s and Children’s Health at Maternité de Port Royal in Paris, and colleagues wrote.
Prior research established that time to diagnosis is longer for Ewing tumors than most other pediatric tumors, but the consequences of this delay remain unclear.
Brasme and colleagues analyzed data from two multicenter trials that included a combined 436 patients with Ewing bone tumors. All patients were aged younger than 21 years, and they were treated in France between 1988 and 2000.
The median time to diagnosis was 70 days, and researchers observed no significant decrease in time to diagnosis during the study period (P>.2).
Researchers determined older age and certain tumor sites — including the pelvis and limb extremities — were associated with longer time to diagnosis. Results of univariable analysis also showed increased tumor volume and decreased histologic response to chemotherapy were associated with long time to diagnosis (P<.05).
Researchers observed no association between time to diagnosis and surgical treatment, presence of a nerve or spinal cord compression at diagnosis, development or site of metastasis, or type of surgical treatment, nor did they identify a link between time to diagnosis and survival.
“We did not observe any significant decrease in time to diagnosis over time, despite the increased availability of modern imaging methods, probably because the diagnosis of bone tumors in children still relies mainly on clinical skills,” Brasme and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, progress is necessary to reduce diagnostic delays by educating parents and primary care physicians, as is the case with other types of pediatric tumors.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts