Soft tissue sarcomas can appear in muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, tendons, connective tissues, or other supporting tissues of the body.
Rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for about half of the cases of pediatric soft tissue sarcomas and arises from a primitive muscle cell (rhabdomyoblast). Since this type of muscle is located throughout the body, tumours can appear in numerous locations.
The four most common locations are:
Head and neck; around the eyes or orbital
Genitourinary tract
Extremities
Chest and lungs (trunk)
Treatment usually includes surgery, a combination of chemotherapy, and radiation.
Symptoms can include:
A lump or swelling, firm and painless to touch, in the extremities, the groin area, or the vaginal area
Drooping eyelids, swelling of the eye, protruding eyeball, rapid vision changes
