Paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma in childhood.

The clinical and morphologic features of 18 patients with paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma are reviewed. Although medical attention was sought frequently within 2 months the lesion was mistaken initially for other more common scrotal conditions in more than a third of the patients, delaying a correct diagnosis for 3 weeks to 4 months. Half of the patients had retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. However, with multimodal therapy 61 per cent remain free of disease at a median of 6 years from diagnosis.