Rhabdomyosarcoma in children. A clinicopathologic study of 35 patients.

Thirty-five patients with rhabdomyosarcoma were treated at the Children's Hospital Medical Center from 1953 to 1973. Factors important in diagnosis and prognosis included age, sex, site, stage of tumor, and specific pathologic type. Effects that surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy had on survivals were also analyzed. Survivals ranged from 2 to 20 years. The rates were 86% for Stage I disease; 40% for Stage II disease, and 0 for the more advanced lesions. A useful prognostic indicator was found in pathologic subgroupings. Survivals for the myxoid spindle-cell variant were 80% for all stages. For the partial maturation series with moderately well-differentiated rhabdomyoblasts, survival was 10% for all stages. For a combination of the above two types, survival was 40% for all stages. The alveolar types had no survivors, although these patients seemed to live longer with their disease.