Rhabdomyosarcoma is a cancer that develops in muscles, tendons and connective tissue, affecting mainly children and young people up to 18 years old. This type of cancer can appear in almost all parts of the body, since it develops where there is skeletal muscle, however, it can also appear in some organs such as the bladder, prostate or vagina.
There are two main types of rhabdomyosarcoma:
- Embryonic rhabdomyosarcoma, which is the most common type of cancer and occurs most frequently in babies and children. Embryonic rhabdomyosarcoma tends to develop in the area of the head, neck, bladder, vagina, prostate and testicles; Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, which occurs most frequently in older children and adolescents, mainly affecting the muscles of the chest, arms and legs. This cancer gets its name because the tumor cells form small hollow spaces in the muscles, called alveoli.
When rhabdomyosarcoma develops in the testicles it is known as paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma and occurs mainly in children or adolescents under 20 years of age, resulting in swelling and pain in the testicles. Learn about other causes of swollen testicles.
Normally, rhabdomyosarcoma is formed during pregnancy, in the embryonic phase, in which the cells that will give rise to the skeletal muscle, called rhabdomyoblasts, become malignant and begin to multiply without control, causing cancer. Rhabdomyosarcoma is curable, especially if it is treated in the early stages of tumor development, after the child's birth.
Signs and symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma
The symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma vary according to the size and location of the tumor, which may be:
- Mass that can be seen or felt in the region in the limbs, trunk or groin; Tingling, numbness and pain in the limbs; Constant headache; Bleeding from the nose, throat, vagina or rectum; Vomiting, stomach pain and intestinal constipation, in this case tumors in the abdomen; yellow eyes and skin, in the case of tumors in the bile ducts; bone pain, cough, weakness and weight loss, when rhabdomyosarcoma is at an advanced stage.
The diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma is carried out through blood and urine tests, X-rays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and tumor biopsy to check for the presence of cancer cells and identify the degree of malignancy of the tumor. Understand how the biopsy is done.
The prognosis of rhabdomyosarcoma varies from person to person, however the sooner the diagnosis is made and treatment begins, the greater the chances of cure and the lesser the possibility of the tumor reappearing in adulthood.
How the treatment is done
The treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma should be started as soon as possible, being recommended by the general practitioner or pediatrician, in the case of children and adolescents. Usually, surgery to remove the tumor is indicated, especially when the disease has not yet reached other organs.
In addition, chemotherapy and radiation therapy can also be used before or after surgery to try to reduce the size of the tumor and eliminate possible metastases in the body. Understand what metastases are and where they can arise.
The treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma, when carried out in children or adolescents, can have some effects on growth and development, causing lung problems, delays in bone growth, changes in sexual development, infertility or learning problems.
