title: Rhabdomyosarcoma of the head and neck in children.
abstract: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most frequent soft tissue sarcoma in children. It is localized in the head and neck region in 40% of cases. Treatment of RMS is complex, including multi-drug chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. The progress that has been accomplished in oncology in recent decades significantly improved outcomes. The 5-year survival rate raised from 25% in 1970 to 73% in 2001, according to IRS-IV data. The outcome is influenced by primary tumor localization, clinical staging, histological tumor type and age at the moment of diagnosis. The relatively rare incidence of these tumors resulted in difficulties in creating more standardized therapeutic protocols. Comparison of outcomes in large patients groups led to an increase in the number of patients with complete remission. Although survival rates of RMS patients have improved, searching for new therapeutic modalities and substances is still essential to improve outcomes in cases of more advanced stages and unfavorable tumor localizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radzikowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kukwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Disease, University of Warmia and Masuria School of Medicine, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kukwa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Oncology, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czarnecka
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krzeski
keywords: chemotherapy; head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma; radiation therapy; sarcoma; surgery