Radiation therapy is an important factor to improve survival in pediatric patients with head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma by enhancing local control: a historical cohort study from a single center

This single-center cohort study of 56 pediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma patients demonstrates that radiation therapy as part of initial treatment significantly improves both overall survival (80.3% vs 49.7%) and event-free survival (63.9% vs 21.9%) by enhancing local control. Non-initial radiation therapy and tumor size >5cm were identified as independent risk factors for worse outcomes.