Rhabdomyosarcoma of the head and neck: 24 cases and literature review

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant tumor of soft tissues, more common in childhood, mainly located in the head and neck. It presents varied clinical and biological behavior and requires individualized management. AIM: To describe information on patients with head and neck RMS diagnosed and treated in a hospital, and to compare them to results in the literature. Study design: Descriptive and retrospective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of data from 24 patients with head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed and treated in a hospital from 1994 to 2008. RESULTS: The mean age was 7.79 years. According to gender, 54.17 % were males and 45.83 % were female. All patients underwent chemotherapy (CT), 62.5% of them also underwent radiotherapy (RT) and 16.67% were submitted to surgery. Of the 24 patients, 8 (33.3%) died, 6 (25%) were found free of neoplasia and 2 (8.3%) experienced tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION: The RMS of the head and neck often presents with nonspecific symptoms. Individualized multimodal therapy should be performed for these patients, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.