Rhabdomyosarcoma in children in the light of isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the third most common solid tumor in children and the most common soft tissue sarcoma in this age group. However, 5-year survival is only observed in approximately 70% of cases, and the prognosis for patients with progressive disease is still poor. The authors hypothesize that the still unidentified differences in embryonal and alveolar tumor biology reflect the complex chemical reactions occurring during cell growth and metabolism and may be pursued in isotopic fractionation processes. Presented herein is the first evaluation of the nitrogen and carbon isotope ratio using isotope ratio mass spectrometry in the two major rhabdomyosarcoma histologic types. 15N enrichment was found in tumor tissues of embryonal histological type. The obtained result may indicate that individual patient considerations such as isotope ratio, in addition to widely accepted prognostic factors, may facilitate patient classification in terms of risk groups.