Advanced Orofacial Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Retrospective Study of 31 Cases

Simultaneous diagnosis and resection of orofacial rhabdomyosarcoma with frozen section biopsy: a case report

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, accounting for 4.5% of all cases of cancer in childhood. Although the head and neck are the most common sites of rhabdomyosarcoma, oral lesions are relatively rare and account for only 10% to 12% of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma cases. This is a case report of a girl aged 2 years and 1 month who initially presented with an upper lip mass that invaded the oral mucosa, oral skin, and nostril skin, causing narrowing of the airway. Through our case, we show that rapidly growing small round cell malignancies, especially rhabdomyosarcoma, can be effectively diagnosed and treated at the same time using primary resection with intraoperative frozen section biopsy and that the time spent waiting for the results of preoperative biopsy can be saved in this way, particularly when the patient's symptoms are intensifying rapidly and require immediate operation.

Identifying barriers to treatment of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma in resource-limited settings: A literature review

We performed a literature review to examine barriers for rhabdomyosarcoma treatment in low-resource settings, and identified 29 articles from 14 middle-income countries, with none from low-income countries. Notable findings included inconsistent use of local control modalities, lack of diagnostics in some settings, and high rate of abandonment specifically in low middle-income countries. Reported limitations included lack of surgical expertise and/or radiation therapy, advanced stage of disease, and absence of health insurance. Although very poor outcomes were prevalent in several settings, good outcomes were achievable in others when multidisciplinary therapy and financial coverage of medical care were made available.