Multidisciplinary treatment of advanced stages of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in children.

Twenty-eight previously untreated patients with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, stages II to IV, were treated with the T-6 induction protocol and maintained on the T-2 protocol. The T-6 protocol consisted of simultaneous administration of drugs and irradiation, given in 3 parts each separated by an obligatory period of rest. Twenty-four of the 28 patients (85.7%) survived 4 to 44 months, with a median follow-up of 24 months; 18 (64%) have been in continuous disease-free status. The immediate toxicity of the T-6 induction was severe and required intensive supportive care. To date, the results from the T-6 induction protocol were more effective than those achieved with the T-2 protocol.