Rhabdomyosarcoma
Also called: childhood rhabdomyosarcoma, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma
What is rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of cancerous tumor that arises in the soft tissue, such as muscles.
Rhabdomyosarcoma can occur throughout childhood and may be present at birth.
Rhabdomyosarcoma in children differs from the form of the disease typically seen in adults. There are two types of rhabdomyosarcoma: embryonal and alveolar.
- Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is seen most often in children under age 5. This form often affects the head and neck, bladder, vagina or prostate and testicles.
- Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma occurs in all age groups and often affects the large muscles of the arms, legs and trunk.
How common is rhabdomyosarcoma?
- Soft tissue sarcomas account for about 7 to 8 percent of childhood cancers.
- Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma in children.
- About two-thirds of rhabdomyosarcoma cases are diagnosed in children younger than age 10.
- More males than females and more caucasians than African-Americans develop rhabdomyosarcoma.
What are the symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma symptoms are similar to those of other cancers and may include:
- A lump or swelling that does not go away
- Bleeding in the nose, vagina or rectum
- Constipation
- Bulging eyes
- Headaches
How is rhabdomyosarcoma treated?
Patients generally have surgery first.
- Surgery—is used to biopsy the tumor (remove a small portion to be examined in a laboratory) and to remove the tumor or as much of it as possible
After surgery, all patients receive chemotherapy.
- Chemotherapy (“chemo”)—uses powerful medicines to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing (dividing) and making more cancer cells:
- Chemo may be injected, so that it can travel throughout the body.
- Some chemo may be given by mouth.
- Combination therapy uses more than one type of chemo at a time.
More surgery and/or radiation therapy may be used for some patients.
- Radiation therapy—uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing:
- External radiationuses machines outside the body to deliver the X-ray dose.
- Internal radiation uses needles, seeds, wires or catheters (tubes) to deliver the radiation directly into or close to the cancer.
What are the survival rates for rhabdomyosarcoma?
- Survival rates depend on factors such as tumor size and location and the amount of tumor that can be removed.
- More than 70 percent of children with rhabdomyosarcoma that has not spread survive long-term.
- Project study recently identified drugs that kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells growing in the laboratory. These drugs may make chemo more effective. The research also found that two types of rhabdomyosarcoma have different genetic causes. This study provided insights into why tumors sometimes come back after treatment. Scientists are conducting further studies based on this research.
Why choose KidsOncoCare for your child’s rhabdomyosarcoma treatment?
- The nurse-to-patient ratio at kids oncocare is unmatched—averaging 1:3 in hematology and oncology, and 1:1 in the Intensive Care Unit.
- Jude researchers are using a new drug combination after all therapy has finished to see if they can improve survival of children with high-risk features.
- are using new imaging techniques such as diffusion-weighted MRI to see how tumors respond to treatment.
