title: Parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma: outcomes and opportunities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine patterns of failure in patients with parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma (PM-RMS) treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-seven patients with PM-RMS received chemotherapy and IMRT for definitive treatment. The median age was 9 years (range, 0.5-35 years). The high-risk features were as follows: 40% alveolar histology, 72% group III and 26% group IV disease, 57% either intracranial extension (ICE) (n=25) or cranial neuropathy (n=21). The median time to RT from the start of chemotherapy was 15 weeks (range, 2-54 weeks). Patients received 50.4 Gy in 1.8-Gy fractions to the primary tumor by use of IMRT. Thirteen patients aged≥14 years with alveolar histology received 36 Gy prophylactic nodal irradiation (PNI) to bilateral cervical nodes. Events were defined as local, regional (nodal), central nervous system (CNS), or distant failures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With a median follow-up time of 3.3 years (range, 0.5-12.8 years), 18 patients experienced failure: 5 local, 2 regional, 6 distant, and 7 CNS. The 5-year local failure-free survival was 86%. Age, histology, and time to RT did not influence the risk of local failure. The 5-year regional failure-free survival was 92%: 100% for embryonal and 74% for alveolar (P=.03). However, there were no lymph node failures in patients with alveolar histology who were given PNI. The 5-year CNS failure-free survival was 83%: 100% without and 70% with ICE (P=.01); 95% without and 69% with cranial neuropathy (P=.02). The estimated 5-year event-free survival and overall survival were 61% for group III and 58% for group IV patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Distant failure was the most common type of failure among group IV patients. Patients with alveolar histology seem to benefit from PNI. The presence of ICE or cranial neuropathy portends a high risk of CNS failure, the most common pattern of failure among non-group IV patients. These patients may benefit from the addition of novel CNS-directed therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Leonard H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wexler
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Meyers
authors.forename: Suzanne L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wolden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015182:Lymphatic Irradiation; D008297:Male; D009333:Neck; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018232:Rhabdomyosarcoma, Alveolar / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D018233:Rhabdomyosarcoma, Embryonal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017211:Treatment Failure; D055815:Young Adult