Integrated multimodality therapy for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the lower genital tract in postpubertal females

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the female lower genital tract is generally regarded as a neoplasm occurring in childhood, but has also been reported in adults. The philosophy of therapy, largely based on data obtained from pediatric patients, has evolved slowly from ultraradical surgery, without adjuvant therapy, to neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by less radical surgery and postoperative radiation. We report here three cases of lower genital tract rhabdomyosarcoma in postpubertal females. A failure to observe complete responses from any single treatment modality suggests that for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in adult and adolescent women a multimodality approach to therapy is essential. (C) 1998 Academic Press.