title: Health related quality of life and late side effects of long-term survivors of Ewing's sarcoma of bone.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The data examining the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) after definitive treatment for Ewing's sarcoma (EWS) is sparse. The objective of this study was to assess the HRQOL and late side effects in EWS of bone survivors treated in the past 2 decades.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen long-term (≥ 5 years) EWS survivors (age range, 11-27 years) treated from 1990 to 2004 completed the EORTC-QLQ-C30. We compared the HRQOL of our data set with a reference group of cancer survivors and also with the general population. Musculoskeletal late treatment toxicity was also evaluated. The Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were used for analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EWS survivors of our series reported significantly better global, physical, role and cognitive HRQOL and less symptoms of fatigue, pain and insomnia than the normative sample of cancer survivors. Moreover, the HRQOL was equivalent to the general population, with the exception of social functioning. Additionally, patients with tumor location in the extremities did not report significant HRQOL differences compared with those with tumor at other locations. Common chronic grade 2 side effects were generalized muscle weakness (23%) and decreased joint range of motion (23%). Only one patient experienced musculoskeletal chronic grade 3 toxicity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that EWS survivors treated in the modern era do not experience lower HRQOL than other cancer survivors. Rather, the HRQOL appears to be equivalent to the general population. Further and larger studies are needed to confirm these results.
authors: The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston, TX, USA. chanodetriana@yahoo.es
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Lopez-Guerra
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Marquez-Vega
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Praena-Fernandez
authors: G L
authors: GL
authors: Ramirez-Villar
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Ordonez
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Cabrera
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy