Evolving strategies in the treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma. Slovenian experience

Background. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Cht) has changed the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in children. The purpose of our study was to review the children treated for RMS between 1974 and 1996. Patients and methods. Fifty-one children, 1-15 years old, were included. Primary sites of tumour were: head and neck 15, orbit 6, genitourinary 12, extremity 9, torso 5 and paratesticular 4. Twelve patients were in stage I, 10 in stage II, 26 in stage III and 3 in stage IV. Of 43 histologically confirmed RMS 25 were embryonal, 13 alveolar, 1 botryoid, 1 spindle cell and 3 sarcoma NOS. In 8 patients, only fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was available. All patients had Cht, 29 neoadjuvant, 20 had surgery first, 40 had irradiation (RT), 2 stage IV patients had bone marrow transplant (ABMT). Multidrug Cht varied: VCR, AMD, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) were used in the 1970s, with Adriablastine (T2), methotrexat (MTX) and/or other drugs (T6, T11) in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, cyclophosphamide was replaced by ifosfamide (VAIA). The treatment was started with Cht in orbital and head and neck tumours and in the majority of genitourinary tumours, but surgery was first in paratesticular and in the majority of extremity tumours. Results. The 3 patients with stage IV disease died. Of those with localised tumour, 34 (70%) were alive and well 5 years after treatment, 80% stage I, 75% stage II and 61% stage III. One patient died of heart failure, 3 of Cht toxicity and 1 of intercurrent disease. Conclusions. The survival of our patients has improved during the last 2 decades and increased from 57 % to 70 % for patients treated after 1985. It is now comparable to that in other centres. With the introduction of neoadjuvant Cht, surgery and RT have become more conservative and could sometimes even be abandoned, thereby reducing considerably the risk of late sequels. Orbital, genitourinary and paratesticular embryonal RMS of low stages have very good prognosis. Primary tumours of the extremities and head and neck, mainly of alveolar type, have poor prognosis. For alveolar type of RMS and stage IV tumours, the present treatment modalities, including ABMT, are not effective. (author)