Inferior clinical outcomes of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma in Thailand: A
16-year experience in a single tertiary institution
Abstract
Abstract Background: There is limited data available on the treatment
outcomes of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in Asian populations.
Therefore, we aimed to review the baseline characteristics, clinical
outcomes, and prognostic factors in children with RMS from Thailand.
Methods: The data of children under 15 years of age diagnosed with RMS
between 2003 and 2019 from a large tertiary hospital in Southern
Thailand were retrospectively reviewed. Descriptive statistics were
utilized to describe the clinical characteristics. The Kaplan–Meier
method was utilized to estimate survival. Cox proportional hazards
regression analysis was utilized to determine prognostic factors that
affect survival. Results: A total of 42 children RMS were included in
this study. The median age at diagnosis was 6.4 years (IQR, 2.4–10.2).
Among these patients, 11 (26%) were older than 10 years, and 13 (31%)
presented with metastatic disease at diagnosis. The 5-year overall
survival (OS) rate was 39% for all children. Age greater than 10 years
(hazard ratio (HR): 3.3, 95% CI: 1.2–9.2) and metastatic disease at
diagnosis (hazard ratio (HR): 2.8, 95% CI: 1.1–7.5) were independently
associated with poorer survival. The 3-year OS for children with
metastatic disease (stage IV) was 15% (95% CI: 4.3–55). Conclusion:
The percentage of metastatic disease in our cohort was higher than that
in previous reports and may have contributed to a poorer outcome. Age
greater than 10 years and metastatic disease at diagnosis were noted as
adverse prognostic factors.