What Is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Sarcomas are cancers that develop from connective tissues in the body, such as muscles, fat, membranes that line the joints, or blood vessels. There are many types of sarcomas. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles of the body. The body contains 3 main types of muscles.
* Skeletal (voluntary) muscles are muscles that we control to move parts
of our body.
* Cardiac muscle powers the heart's pumping action.
* Smooth muscle is present in internal organs. For example, smooth
muscle in the intestines pushes food along as it is digested. We do not
control this movement.
Skeletal muscles begin to form in embryos about 7 weeks into early embryonic development. At that time, rhabdomyoblasts (cells that will eventually form muscles) begin to form. It is these cells that can develop into the cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. Because this is a cancer of embryonal cells, it is much more common in children, although it does occur in adults occasionally.
Although most of our skeletal muscles are in our limbs and trunk, these cancers most often are found elsewhere in the body. Common sites include:
* head and neck (near the eye, inside the nasal sinuses or throat, or near
the spine in the neck)
* urinary and reproductive organs (bladder, prostate gland, or any of the
female organs)
* arms and legs
* trunk (chest and abdomen)
But these cancers can occur anywhere in the body, including sites that don't normally have skeletal muscle.
