Rhabdomyosarcoma in Children: About 10 Cases

Introduction: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant soft-tissue tumor arising from striated muscle cells. It accounts for 60% - 70% of malignant mesenchymal tumors and 5% of pediatric cancers. Two-thirds of these cancers are diagnosed in children under 6 years of age, with a slight male predominance. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of 10 cases of RMS collected in the pediatric hematology and oncology department of the Oujda university hospital, over a 5-year period, running from January 2018 to December 2022. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 3 years, with a sex ratio of 1. The mean time to diagnosis was 2 months. The most common site was the head and neck (50%), followed by the genitourinary tract (20%), the extremities (20%) and finally the abdomen (10%). The most frequent mode of discovery was a mass or swelling found in 90% of patients (all sites included), followed by exophthalmos in 30% of cases. At the diagnostic stage, CT scans were performed in 70% of cases and MRI in 5 patients (50%). Histological diagnosis was determined by immunohistochemical pathology in all our patients, with a predominance of embryonal (70%) versus alveolar (20%) and spindle cell types (10%). All patients underwent an extension workup, and a cervico-thoraco-abdominopelvic CT was performed in all patients (100%);MRI was performed in 2 patients (20%);lymph node involvement was present in 5 patients (50%). Metastases at the time of diagnosis were noted in only 1 patient (10%), who simultaneously presented with two metastatic sites;testicular and abdominal wall. Sixty percent of patients presented with advanced disease (high risk) and 40% with standard risk. Chemotherapy was used in all patients (100%), with upfront tumor resection performed in 40%. Fifty percent of patients received radiotherapy at a mean dose of 43 Gy, with the orbit the most frequently irradiated area (30%). All patients underwent CTscan and/or MRI and/or ultrasound surveillance. Follow-up during and after treatment was marked by complete remission in 8patients, loss of sight in one patient, and one patient died as a result of progressive disease. Conclusion: RMS is a malignant tumor of striated muscle. The epidemiological and clinical features of this tumor in our study are generally similar to those described in the literature. Management of these tumors requires multidisciplinary collaboration involving oncopediatric, radiologist, pediatric surgeon, pathologist and radiotherapist.