Surgical management of rhabdomyosarcoma in children

This review of the past year's literature summarizes the most relevant advances in the surgical treatment of rhabdomyosarcomas. Improved responses to multimodality therapy and advances in surgical techniques have allowed for more aggressive surgical resection in some patients and less extensive resections in others. The Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study committee continues to examine prognostic factors in attempts to provide risk-adapted therapy. Development and evaluation of specific recommendations for surgical treatment by site of tumor continue to be a focus of the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study. The overall trend is toward less radical surgical intervention with organ preservation.