iEuroEwing: New trial for Ewing sarcoma patients launched in Belgium

A new trial, iEuroEwing, has been launched in June 2024. This trial will evaluate treatment optimisation in patients with Ewing sarcoma.

Ewing sarcoma is a malignancy typically affecting children, adolescents, and young adults with a median age of 14–15 years at diagnosis. Most Ewing sarcomas arise in bony sites, while 20% of reported cases arise from soft tissue.

The iEuroEwing trial is a joint protocol of European and other international Ewing sarcoma trial groups.

The primary aim and rationale of this protocol is to improve the survival rates of patients with Ewing sarcoma and Ewing-like sarcomas. The trial is divided into three parts: chemotherapy in standard risk and high-risk patients and radiotherapy in standard risk patients.

The standard chemotherapy treatment consists of vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (VDC), alternating with ifosfamide, etoposide (IE). It will be compared to same frontline treatment with an additional six-month maintenance treatment using vinorelbine and cyclophosphamide (VinoCyc).

The primary aim of the radiotherapy part is to examine whether an intensification of the local radiotherapy of the primary tumour region will not increase the occurrence of a maximal acute skin toxicity during the whole radiotherapy phase.

The international sponsor of the iEuroEwing trial is the German Paediatric Oncology Group GPOH gGmbH, Berlin (Germany). In Belgium the trial is coordinated by the Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, with Prof. Dr. Bénédicte Brichard acting as the national coordinating investigator. All Belgian paediatric haematology-oncology centres are participating in this trial. For Belgium we expect to recruit 60 patients over a period of 6.5 years.

This trial is open in Belgium thanks to the financial support given by the Funds Simon Bauvin, Robert Brancart, Christian Lispet, Rosa Meynen, Denise Raes, Alberte Delferière, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation.