The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

General Information ¹

Added text ² to state that response to induction chemotherapy as judged by anatomic imaging, does not appear to correlate with the likelihood of survival in patients with rhabdomyosarcoma (cited Burke et al. as reference 26).

Cellular Classification ³

Added Barr et al. as reference 5 ⁴.

Added text ⁴ to state that patients with solid variant alveolar histology have a lower incidence of PAX/FKHR gene fusions compared to patients showing classical alveolar histology (cited Parham et al. as reference 10).

Added text ⁴ to state that gene expression arrays identify a cluster of genes that correlate with rhabdomyosarcomas which contain the PAX-FKHR translocation. Tumors with alveolar histology are more similar to embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas with controversial histologic features (cited Davicioni et al. as reference 18).

Previously Untreated Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma ⁵

Added text ⁶ to state that an important review providing information about historical, current, and future treatment approaches for prostate and bladder rhabdomyosarcomas has been published (cited Ferrer et al. as reference 31).

Added text ⁷ to state that the response rates to metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma were better when irinotecan was administered with vincristine than without it.

Added text ⁸ to state that the COG-ARST0431 treatment regimen begins with two courses of vincristine and irinotecan in conjunction with radiation therapy and continues with cycles of vincristine/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide/etoposide using interval dose compression. The regimen also includes VAC pulses.