Rhabdomyosarcoma of the oral soft tissues

Between 1944 and 1984 16 patients with rhabdomyosarcoma of the oral soft tissues were treated at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Before 1968 treatment consisted only of surgery. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were used when surgery was impossible or in an effort to treat recurrent disease. After 1968 treatment design was multidisciplinary and included (excision) biopsy, followed by a combination of high-dose radiotherapy and multidrug chemotherapy. Of the six patients treated before 1968, five (83%) died of disease. In eight of the ten patients treated after 1968, follow-up was 4 years or more. Of these eight patients, seven (87.5%) are free of disease. The clinicopathologic aspects, treatment, complications of treatment, and survival figures are discussed.