A case of small bowel metastasis from spinal Ewing sarcoma causing intussusception in an adult female.

BACKGROUND: Ewing sarcomas are highly aggressive malignant tumours occurring predominantly in the long bones of the extremities in children and young adults. About 20 % of patients will present with metastases at diagnosis with the commonest sites being the lungs, bone and bone marrow. Cases of primary small bowel Ewing sarcomas have been described but are nonetheless exceedingly rare, even more so cases of metastasis to the small bowel.

CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of vertebral Ewing sarcoma in a 44 year-old female which metastasized to the jejunum causing intussusception.

CONCLUSIONS: Ewing's sarcoma is highly aggressive and presence of metastases, overt or subclinical, is thought to be present in almost all patients at diagnosis. As evidenced by our patient, metastatic disease can progress rapidly to cause further complications and confer a poorer survival. The possibility of metastasis, no matter how rare or unlikely the site is, should be considered and actively investigated to expedite treatment of the primary disease.