Pediatric-protocol of multimodal therapy is associated with improved survival in AYAs and adults with rhabdomyosarcoma

Abstract Background Multimodal therapy is the standard treatment for pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma, but for adolescents and young adults (AYAs: ages 15–39) and older adults with rhabdomyosarcoma, the use of adjuvant therapy is variable, and survival is greatly decreased compared with younger patients. Methods All patients with rhabdomyosarcoma who had a curative operative were identified from the 1998–2012 National Cancer Database. Regression analyses identified independent factors relating to receipt of multimodal therapy (resection + chemotherapy + radiation) and the influence of multimodal therapy on 5-year overall survival. Results Of 2,312 patients, 44% were pediatric (age  P Conclusion This first large national study suggests that multimodal therapy is independently associated with improved survival for both AYAs and adults with rhabdomyosarcoma, similar to pediatric patients, but multimodal therapy is appreciably underused. Implementation of multimodal therapy for all patients could potentially improve overall outcomes of patients with rhabdomyosarcoma.