Bladder Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma Among Children: A Descriptive Overview From Saudi Arabia

Introduction Although rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common type of soft-tissue sarcoma seen in the pediatric population, it is rarely located in the bladder. This study aims to provide a descriptive overview of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma among children in Saudi Arabia. Methods This retrospective cohort study included all children diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. Frequency and percentage were used to display the categorical variables and a mean and standard deviation for the continuous variables. Data were collected from the Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR). Results A total of 16 patients were detected. Most of the patients (43.8%) were toddlers (1-3 years) and males (87.5%). Most of the tumors were multifocal (100%), well-differentiated (43.75%), and localized (43.75%). The mortality rate was 12.5% with a diagnosis to death interval of 1.26 + 0.46 years. The incidence pattern of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma fluctuated across the years. The highest incidence of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma (0.17) per 1 million was observed in 2012 while the lowest incidence (0.03) per 1 million was observed in 2015. Conclusion We concluded that tumor presentation in early childhood is associated with a better prognosis. Moreover, males are predominantly affected by this tumor. Through our study, we tried to fill the knowledge gap regarding the descriptive statistics of bladder RMS in Saudi children. We believe that it would add significant value to the existing literature and help in better understanding the disease.