Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Ewing sarcoma is treated with external beam radiation therapy. This type of therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.

Radiation therapy is used when the tumor cannot be removed by surgery or when surgery to remove the tumor will affect important body functions or the way the child will look. It may be used to make the tumor smaller and decrease the amount of tissue that needs to be removed during surgery. It may also be used to treat any tumor that remains after surgery and tumors that have spread to other parts of the body.

Radiation therapy may also be used as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms caused by the tumor in the bone.

Learn more about External Beam Radiation Therapy for Cancer and Radiation Therapy Side Effects.