Adjuvant and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma family tumors and osteosarcoma of the extremity: further outcome for patients event-free survivors 5 years from the beginning of treatment.
BACKGROUND
In 326 patients with Ewing's sarcoma family tumor (ESFT) and 628 extremity osteosarcoma (OS) treated with adjuvant and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and event-free survivors 5 years from the beginning of treatment we evaluated outcome in the following years. Post 5-year follow-up for these patients was 9.7 years (5.5-29 years).


METHODS
Adverse events observed after 5-year follow-up were 73 (7.6%): 38 late relapses, nine leukemia, 14 second solid tumor, seven radioinduced sarcoma, three severe adriamycin-related cardiomyopathy, one suicide and one death by car crash.


RESULTS
Of the patients who developed late events, 16 (22.5%) are alive and event free after 8 years from the last treatment (2-22 years).


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the high rate of late adverse events after 5 years in patients with OS and ESFT is noteworthy and indicates that these patients should be followed for >5 years.
Bacci
G
G
Section of Chemotherapy, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy. gaetano.bacci@ior.it
Balladelli
A
A
Forni
C
C
Ferrari
S
S
Longhi
A
A
Benassi
M S
MS
Briccoli
A
A
Serra
M
M
Picci
P
P
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents