TY - JOUR T1 - The Impact of Age on Outcome of Embryonal and Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Patients. A Multicenter Study JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 4485 LP - 4497 VL - 32 IS - 10 AU - JORIEKE C. VAN GAAL AU - WINETTE T.A. VAN DER GRAAF AU - BART RIKHOF AU - QUIRINIS G.C.M. VAN HOESEL AU - STEVEN TEERENSTRA AU - ALBERT J.H. SUURMEIJER AU - UTA E. FLUCKE AU - JAN L.C.M. LOEFFEN AU - STEFAN SLEIJFER AU - EVELINE S.J.M DE BONT Y1 - 2012/10/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/32/10/4485.abstract N2 - Background: The prognosis of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in children and adolescents has improved since the introduction of multi-agent chemotherapy. However, outcome data of adults with RMS are scarce. This multicenter retrospective study investigated the effect of age on outcome of RMS. Patients and Methods: Data were collected from three Dutch University Medical Centers between 1977-2009. The effect of age and clinical prognostic factors on relapse-free and disease-specific survival (DSS) were analyzed. Results: Age as a continuous variable predicted poor survival in multivariate analysis. Five-year DSS was highest for non-metastatic embryonal RMS, followed by non-metastatic alveolar RMS and was poor in metastatic disease. Higher age correlated with unfavorable histological subtype (alveolar RMS) and with metastatic disease at presentation in embryonal RMS. In non-metastatic embryonal RMS and in all alveolar RMS, higher age was an adverse prognostic factor of outcome. Conclusion: This study indicates that age is a negative predictor of survival in patients with embryonal and alveolar RMS. ER -