Clinical-pathologic profile of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma in children: a systematic review

This systematic review aimed to analyze the clinicopathological profile and relevant prognostic factors of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma in pediatric patients. The search was carried out in the electronic search portals PubMed, Lilacs, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. The search yielded studies that were then analyzed regarding study topic, data extraction, and risk of bias using the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies) guidelines. Finally, three studies were included for qualitative analysis. Most of the cases involved embryonic and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Expression of MYOD1 was highly correlated with diagnosis of spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma, which appears to have a poor prognosis in children. Furthermore, tumor size <5 cm and absence of metastasis accompanied by complete resection and administration of adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy favored a better prognosis.