Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors of bone. A review of three cases.

The recently individualized and still incompletely understood family of peripheral neuroectodermal tumors encompasses several tumor types, of which some have a predilection for bone. Immunocytochemical studies are essential and usually provide the diagnosis. A t(11;22)(q24;q12) translocation is present in over 80% of cases. Ewing's sarcoma is now viewed as an undifferentiated form of peripheral neuroectodermal tumor, and both tumors require management with combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy and/or surgery. Contradictory data have been reported regarding the comparative prognosis of peripheral neuroectodermal tumor and Ewing's sarcoma, indicating a need for further studies in large numbers of patients. We illustrate these points by three case-reports, two in girls diagnosed with a vertebral primary at five and nine years of age, respectively, and one in a man diagnosed with a pelvic primary at 29 years of age.