Rhabdomyosarcoma treated with chemotherapy during the third trimester.

Abstract

Rhabdomyosarcoma is an aggressive tumor that is rarely found in pregnancy, and is usually treated with multiagent chemotherapy. Chemotherapy given during pregnancy is associated with several maternal-fetal complications, including risks for mutagenicity, myelosuppression, and fetal death. An 18-year-old woman had stage III facial rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed early in the third trimester. She achieved clinical remission with multiagent chemotherapy given during pregnancy, with no fetal complications. Invasive rhabdomyosarcoma is biologically predisposed to metastasize, and in the absence of effective chemotherapy, most patients will develop sites of distant recurrence. Chemotherapy plays an important role as frontline treatment in pregnant women with rhabdomyosarcoma.