Click Image to Enlarge.
What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Soft-tissue sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops in the soft tissues of the body, which connect, surround, and support the body's internal structures and organs. These soft tissues are muscles, joints, blood vessels, fat, tendons, and nerves. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) forms from immature cells that normally develop and mature into skeletal muscles, which are the muscles that are attached to the bones and help the body move. Rhabdomyosarcomas can start anywhere in the body, but are most common in the head, neck, arms, legs, bladder, prostate, and vagina. Rhabdomyosarcoma predominantly affects children of two different age groups and rarely can occur in adults as well. Embryonal RMS develops in infants and young children under the age of 5, and alveolar RMS develops in teens and adolescents between the ages of 14 and 20. Boys are at a slightly higher risk for developing rhabdomyosarcoma than girls.
There are two types of Rhabdomyosarcoma:
-
Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS)
The most common type of rhabdomyosarcoma is ERMS. ERMS mainly occurs in infants and young children. This form of rhabdomyosarcoma usually develops in the head, neck, bladder, vagina, prostate, and testes. ERMS cells resemble the immature muscle cells of a developing embryo when examined under a microscope.
-
Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS)
ARMS usually begins in the large muscles of the torso, arms, and legs and affects teens and adolescents. ARMS usually grows more rapidly and behaves more aggressively than ERMS. When viewed under a microscope, ARMS cells look like muscle cells of a more developed fetus.
