Cancer Health Center

There are different types of treatment for patients with childhood rhabdomyosarcoma.

Different types of treatments are available for children with rhabdomyosarcoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.

Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

Children with rhabdomyosarcoma should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating cancer in children.

Because rhabdomyosarcoma can form in many different parts of the body, many different kinds of treatments are used. Treatment will be overseen by a pediatriconcologist, a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist works with other health care providers who are experts in treating children with rhabdomyosarcoma and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following specialists:

• Pediatric surgeon.
• Radiation oncologist.
• Pediatric hematologist.
• Pediatric nurse specialist.
• Geneticist or cancer genetics risk counselor.
• Social worker.
• Rehabilitation specialist.
• Psychologist.

Some cancer treatments cause side effects months or years after treatment has ended.

Side effects from cancer treatment that begin during or after treatment and continue for months or years are called late effects. Late effects of cancer treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma may include:

• Physical problems.
• Changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning, or memory.
• Second cancers (new types of cancer).

Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the effects cancer treatment can have on your child. (See the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for more information.)

Three types of standard treatment are used:

Surgery

Surgery (removing the cancer in an operation) is used to treat childhood rhabdomyosarcoma. A type of surgery called wide local excision is often done. A wide local excision is the removal of tumor and some of the normal tissue around it, including the lymph nodes. When an extra amount of normal tissue is removed from around the tumor, it is called an en bloc removal of a cuff of normal tissue. A second surgery may be needed to remove all the cancer. Whether surgery is done and the type of surgery done depends on the following:

• Where in the body the tumor started.
• The effect the surgery will have on the way the child will look.
• The effect the surgery will have on the child's important body functions.
• How the tumor responded to chemotherapy or radiation therapy that may have been given first.