Bone and Soft Tissue Oncology

Patient and Family Education

Rhabdomyosarcoma

What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?

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Rhabdomyosarcoma is a disease in which cancerous cells grow in muscle tissue. Rhabdomyosarcoma begins in the soft tissues in a type of muscle called striated muscle. The disease can develop anywhere in the body, but most often the tumors are found in the head and neck, the urinary and reproductive organs, and the arms, legs, and trunk.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma found in children. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 90 percent of rhabdomyosarcomas are found in infants, children, and young adults under the age of 25. About 250 new cases occur each year in the United States.

A child's chance of recovery (prognosis) and choice of treatment depend on where the cancer is located, how far it has spread, how the cells look under the microscope (histology), the type of therapy administered, and how much of the cancer can be removed by surgery. More than two-thirds of children with rhabdomyosarcoma survive.

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