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Bone and Soft Tissue Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Rhabdomyosarcoma

Stages

If a child has rhabdomyosarcoma, the doctor will also order tests to find out if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This process is called staging and is used to help the doctor plan treatment for the patient.

There are several staging systems for childhood rhabdomyosarcoma. The stages are based on the size and location of the tumor and how far and where the cancer has spread.

• Stage 1: Cancer is found in the eye, head and/or neck, or near the sex organs and bladder.
  
  
• Stage 2: Cancer is located in only one area (but in none of the areas in Stage 1), is smaller than two inches across (5 cm) in size, and has not spread to the lymph nodes.
  
  
• Stage 3: Cancer is located in one area (but not one of the areas in Stage 1), is greater than two inches across (5 cm) in size, and may have spread to the lymph nodes found nearby the cancer.
  
  
• Stage 4: Cancer has spread and is found in more than one place at the time of diagnosis.
  
  
• Recurrent: The cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the area where it started or in another part of the body.

This page was last updated on: September 21, 2009.

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