Outcomes of children with rhabdomyosarcoma treated with intensive chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy through a period of protocol revision at a South African center, 1990-2010

Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017 Mar;64(3). doi: 10.1002/pbc.26248. Epub 2016 Sep 22.

Abstract

A total of 75 children with biopsy-proven rhabdomyosarcoma were treated at our institution between 1990 and 2010. Five-year overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 58.7%. OS by stage was as follows: Stage 1 (80%), Stage 2 (80%), Stage 3 (54.1%), and Stage 4 (38.5%). There was a trend to suggest that revision of treatment approaches improved crude survival over time: pre-2003 (OS 42.1%); 2003-2005 (OS 50.0%); 2005-2010 (OS 60.8%).

Keywords: middle-income countries; rhabdomyosarcoma.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prognosis
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / mortality*
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / pathology
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / therapy*
  • Survival Rate
  • Treatment Outcome