Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Multimodal therapy for the initial management of genital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in childhood
  1. N. R. Maharaj*,
  2. D. Nimako* and
  3. G. P. Hadley
  1. *Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and
  2. Departments of Paediatric Surgery, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
  1. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Niren Ray Maharaj, FCOG(SA), MMed(O&G), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag 7, Congella, Durban 4013, South Africa. Email: maharajn13{at}ukzn.ac.za

Abstract

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma found in children. A polypoid form of the embryonal type of rhabdomyosarcoma, namely, sarcoma botryoides, is often found in girls younger than 5 years, and typically presents as a polypoid mass protruding from the vagina. Over the years, there has been a shift in the treatment of this condition from radical surgery to a multimodal approach involving conservative surgery with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This approach has been associated with improved survival and preservation of normal anatomy and function. We discuss the initial management of a 4-year-old girl with pelvic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma using a multimodal approach.

  • embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma
  • multimodal therapy

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.