Clinical Character of Pediatric Head and Neck Rhabdomysarcomas: A 7-Year Retrospective Study

Objective: The rhabdomysarcoma (RMS) is most common soft tissue carcinoma in children, mostly foundin the head and neck with high degree of malignancy. The current study aimed to summarize clinical data andevaluate treatment outcome of cases in a single hospital.
Methods: Forty-one (24 male, 17 female) children withnewly diagnosed RMS in Beijing Tong Ren Hospital were enrolled between November, 2004 and May, 2011. The.Students’ t and Chi tests were then performed on retrospectively reviewed clinical data, followed by survivalanalysis based on the Kaplan Meier method using SPSS 17.0 software.
Results: Of all cases, 32 were treated bycommon chemotherapy, and 3 cases with stage III RMS received high-dose chemotherapy and auto-peripheralblood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT). Side-effects in the former were: I grade for 62.5% (20/32), II gradefor 28.1% (9/32), III grade account for 9.275% (3/32). Side-effects of 3 cases with APBSCT: 2 were I grade, 1 wasIII grade. The median follow-up time of 41 RMS cases was 41 months. Four cases were lost to follow-up, 7 casesrecurred, and 5 cases died of cerebral metastasis, witha total survival rate was 86.5% (32/37). CR rate was 67.6%(25/37), PR was 18.9% (7/37).
Conclusion: Multidiscipline treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy,surgery and auto-PBSCT is highly recommended for pediatric patients with head and neck RMS.