Title:Computed Tomography (CT) Features of Pelvic Rhabdomyosarcoma
(RMS) in Children
Volume: 18
Author(s): Lu Tian, Yue Cai, Xiaomeng Li and Jinhua Cai*
Affiliation:
- Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center
for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders,
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing 400014, China
Keywords:
Computed tomography, CT, pelvic rhabdomyosarcomas, RMS, children, lymphatic, metastasis, soft-tissue sarcoma.
Abstract: Background: Currently, there are few literature reports on the CT features of pelvic
rhabdomyosarcoma, most of which exist in the form of case reports, and some literature reports
have suggested that CT features of pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma lack specificity. This study was designed
to investigate the CT features of pelvic RMS in children to provide imaging evidence for
clinical diagnosis.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed radiographic and clinical data of all paediatric patients with
pelvic neoplastic lesions pathologically proven to be malignant in our hospitals from January 2012
through March 2021. The data of the included paediatric patients were divided into two groups according
to whether the pathology results indicated RMS. CT features of RMS (n = 37) and non-
RMS (n = 91) were compared by two abdominal radiologists.
Results: A total of 9 CT features were statistically significant for the diagnosis of pelvic RMS in
children (p < 0.05). The sensitivity (range, 0.64-0.74) and specificity (range, 0.86-0.93) of the CT
features showing multinodular fusion, surrounding blood vessels, and heterogeneous progressive
centripetal enhancement were both relatively high. The CT features indicating lower than muscle
density, necrosis, non-calcification and non-haemorrhage exhibited high specificity (range,
0.86-0.97), but the sensitivity (range, 0.32-0.40) was relatively low, while the sensitivity (range,
0.37-0.46) and specificity (range, 0.75-0.83) of other CT features used for diagnosing pelvic RMS,
namely, lobulated and lymphatic metastasis, were both relatively low.
Conclusion: Pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma in children has its own specific CT features.
