Clinical staging and treatment results in rhabdomyosarcoma of the female genital tract among children and adolescents

From 1972 to 1984, 47 children and adolescents with primary tumors of the female genital tract were treated with eight different Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS I‐II) protocols. These included patients with vaginal (28), uterine (ten), or vulval (nine) rhabdomyosarcoma or undifferentiated sarcomas. The mean age of patients with primary vaginal tumors was younger than 2 years. All were of the embryonal histologic subtype. The majority of these patients were treated with initial chemotherapy (vincristine, dactinomycin, ±cyclophosphamide, ±Adriamycin [(ADR) doxorubicin]) followed by delayed hysterectomy and/or partial vaginectomy. Among 26 patients with localized vaginal tumors, there have been six relapses resulting in one tumor‐related death and one therapy‐related death. The five patients with nonfatal relapse have been disease‐free for from 2.5 to 6.5 years (mean, 4.4 years) since salvage therapy was commenced. The 19 patients without relapse have been continuously disease‐free for 1.5 to 12 years (mean, 5.34 years: median, 6 years). No patient that received ADR initially relapsed. Ten patients, with a mean age > 13 years, had primary uterine sarcomas and were treated by the same chemotherapy regimens. Six with polypoid localiized lesions, removed before chemotherapy, have remained disease‐free for 2.5 to 6.5 years. Four, with more extensive local lesions or disseminated disease, treated with chemotherapy only, died 2 to 11 months from diagnosis. Nine patients with rhabdomyosarcomas of the wlva (age, 1‐19 years) were managed by the same chemotherapy regimens ± radiotherapy. Resection was carried out initially or after chemotherapy. Eight of these have been disease‐free from 4 to 10 years (mean, 6.4 years); and one is alive with probable disease at 2.5 years.