de Vries ISA, Morosi C, Bisogno G, Minard-Colin V, Coppadoro B, Zanetti I, Ferrari A, Orbach D, Moalla S, Ben-Arush M, Devalck C, van Ewijk R, McHugh K, Jenney M, Chisholm J, Guillen G, Mandeville H, Merks JHM, Van Rijn RR
Pediatr Radiol. 2025 Sep;55(10):2160-2170. doi: 10.1007/s00247-025-06359-3. Epub 2025 Aug 14.PMID: 40810863
Children with rhabdomyosarcoma usually have imaging scans during chemotherapy to see whether their tumour is shrinking. It is often assumed that tumours that shrink quickly are linked to better long-term outcomes, but this has not been clearly proven.
This study investigated whether changes in tumour size seen on scans after the first three cycles of chemotherapy could predict how well children with rhabdomyosarcoma would do in the future. The study included 613 children with non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma who had measurable tumours at diagnosis and imaging available before and during treatment.
Most children showed some degree of tumour shrinkage after three cycles of chemotherapy. However, for children whose cancer did not worsen during this early treatment period, the amount of tumour shrinkage did not predict how long they lived or how likely their cancer was to return.
These findings suggest that early changes in tumour size on imaging alone should not be used to decide whether treatment should be changed for children with non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. Other clinical and biological factors remain important for predicting outcomes and guiding treatment decisions.
This study investigated whether changes in tumour size seen on scans after the first three cycles of chemotherapy could predict how well children with rhabdomyosarcoma would do in the future. The study included 613 children with non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma who had measurable tumours at diagnosis and imaging available before and during treatment.
Most children showed some degree of tumour shrinkage after three cycles of chemotherapy. However, for children whose cancer did not worsen during this early treatment period, the amount of tumour shrinkage did not predict how long they lived or how likely their cancer was to return.
These findings suggest that early changes in tumour size on imaging alone should not be used to decide whether treatment should be changed for children with non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. Other clinical and biological factors remain important for predicting outcomes and guiding treatment decisions.
