Pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma incidence and survival in the United States: An assessment of 5656 cases, 2001-2017.

BACKGROUND

While rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents, past epidemiology studies of this malignancy used data that covered <30% of the US population. Therefore, we evaluated RMS incidence using data from U.S. Cancer Statistics (USCS) and survival trends using the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), which covers 100% and 94% of the U.S. population, respectively.

METHODS

Incidence and survival were assessed for pediatric patients diagnosed with RMS during 2003-2017 and 2001-2016, respectively. Both demographic and clinical variables were evaluated. Age-adjusted incidence rates, average annual percent change (AAPC), and 5-year relative survival (RS) were calculated, all with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Cox regression models were used to evaluate the impact of demographic and clinical variables on survival.

RESULTS

We identified 5656 primary RMS cases in USCS during 2003-2017. The age-adjusted incidence rate was 4.58 per 1 million (95% CI: 4.46-4.70) with an AAPC of 0.3% (95% CI: -0.7 to 1.2%). In NPCR, 5-year RS for all cases was 68.0% (95% CI: 66.6-69.3%). In multivariable analyses, non-Hispanic (NH) Black cases had worse survival compared with NH White cases (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01-1.33).

CONCLUSION

The incidence and survival rates were stable in the largest and most comprehensive population-based analysis for pediatric RMS cases in the U.S. Additionally, we observed a survival disparity among NH Black cases. Findings from this study could inform interventions to address disparities, risk stratification strategies, and clinical trial design.