Pediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common malignant soft-tissue tumor in the pediatric population, occurs most often in the head and neck region. Major advancements in the management of these aggressive tumors have been achieved in the last 20 years on three fronts: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Surgery, with the advent of skull-base, craniofacial, and free-tissue-transfer reconstructive techniques, has once again become part of the primary management of these tumors. Prior to 1960, RMS was uniformly fatal; now, with the introduction of multimodality treatment regimens, two thirds of patients can expect long-term survival.