What happens when embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma recurs

The prognosis of recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma is less favorable, and its treatment requires a combination of multiple tools, some of which need to be individualized, even in combination with targeted and immunotherapy. Factors affecting the prognosis include the site of tumor recurrence, the interval between the end of treatment of the primary tumor and its recurrence, and whether radiotherapy has been given to treat the primary tumor. Therefore, after complete remission, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma still requires standardized monitoring and follow-up, and once recurrence is detected, standardized chemotherapy treatment is required to achieve complete remission again. The probability of recurrence is higher if the tumor grows in a poor prognosis location at the time of initial diagnosis, including bladder, prostate, limb, meninges, pelvis, perineum, liver, and cannot be completely removed, or if the tumor has metastasized distantly at the time of initial diagnosis in the child. Common sites of recurrence include the primary site of tumor, metastatic site lung, bone, bone marrow, etc. Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma in children, which develops from abnormal growth of early muscle cells and can occur in various parts of the body. Rhabdomyosarcoma is classified by histologic type as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, glandular rhabdomyosarcoma, and pleomorphic or mesenchymal rhabdomyosarcoma. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for 57% of all rhabdomyosarcoma cases and is the most common type of rhabdomyosarcoma. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma has a better prognosis than other subtypes, but recurrence is possible. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma recurrence usually occurs within 3 years of treatment and is very rare in patients with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma who achieve 5 years of event-free survival.