Combined treatment modalities of rhabdomyosarcoma in children

Thirty-nine previously untreated children with rhabdomyosarcoma were managed by a coordinated program of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy during the years 1960 to 1973. The primary tumor was located in the head and neck (24), chest wall (1), abdomen (1), pelvis (10), and lower extremity (3). Radiation therapy consisted of tumor doses of 5000 to 6000 rads delivered in five to six weeks. Combination chemotherapy with actinomyctin-D, vincristine and cyclophosphamide was used after 1968. Seventeen of 25 cases (68%) treated after 1968 are alive two to five years following treatment. Only four of 14 cases (29%) who received less radical therapy before 1968 are alive. A relatively high incidence of local failure (23%) was noted in spite of adequate doses of radiotherapy. None of the four cases with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis survived. Major complications were mainly noted in patients with orbital rhabdomyosarcoma. Correlation of absolute survival with dose of irradiation, primary site, extent of disease and histologic subtypes of the tumor are discussed.