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Magnetic resonance features and cranial nerve involvement in pediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcomas

  • Paediatric Neuroradiology
  • Published:
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A Correction to this article was published on 06 September 2021

This article has been updated

Abstract

Purpose

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a malignant tumor frequent in children. The frequency and characteristics of cranial nerve involvement in pediatric head and neck (H&N) RMS have been scarcely reported. The aim of this study is to review a large cohort of pediatric head and neck RMS with an emphasis on cranial nerve involvement.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed H&N RMS cases from 3 tertiary hospitals over a 10-year period. Cranial nerve involvement was defined as radiologically apparent tumor extension along a nerve and/or the presence of secondary signs. Scans were reviewed by two pediatric neuroradiologists, blinded to clinical data.

Results

A total of 52 patients met the inclusion criteria. Histologically, 39/52 were embryonal RMS, while 13/52 were alveolar RMS. Regional lymph nodes metastases were present in 19.2%. Cranial nerve involvement was present in 36.5%. Nerves were mainly involved as a direct extension of the mass through skull base foramina or after invasion of cavernous sinus, Meckel’s cave, orbital apex, or stylomastoid foramen.

Conclusion

Cranial nerve involvement is frequent in pediatric head and neck RMS and occurs secondary to “geographic” invasion due to direct extension through skull base foramina or cavernous sinus. These tumors never showed distant perineural metastatic disease as is seen in cases of adult head and neck carcinomas. This implies a different biological interaction between the nerves and these tumors in comparison to adult H&N tumors.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

aRMS:

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

eRMS:

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma

H&N:

Head and neck

RMS:

Rhabdomyosarcoma

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research, Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre.

Author information

Author notes

  1. TG and PS contributed equally to the study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Diagnostics and Pathology, Verona University Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) Di Verona, Piazzale Aristide Stefani 1, Verona, Italy

    Giacomo Talenti

  2. Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy

    Stefania Picariello & Silverio Perrotta

  3. Haematology and Oncology Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK

    Stefania Picariello & Olga Slater

  4. Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Caroline Robson

  5. Neuroradiology Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK

    Livja Mertiri, Kshitij Mankad & Felice D’Arco

  6. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Livja Mertiri

  7. Neuroradiology Department, Santobono Children’s Hospital, Naples, Italy

    Carmela Russo

  8. Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square 8-11, London, WC1N 3BG, UK

    Sotirios Bisdas

  9. Pediatric Oncology, AORN Santobono-Pausilipon, Napoli, Italy

    Massimo Eraldo Abate

  10. Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK

    Richard Hewitt

Authors
  1. Giacomo Talenti
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  2. Stefania Picariello
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  3. Caroline Robson
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  4. Livja Mertiri
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  5. Carmela Russo
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  6. Olga Slater
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  7. Sotirios Bisdas
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  8. Massimo Eraldo Abate
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  9. Silverio Perrotta
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  10. Richard Hewitt
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  11. Kshitij Mankad
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  12. Felice D’Arco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giacomo Talenti.

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No research involving humans or animals was conducted.

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The original online version of this article was revised: Originally, the article has been published online with inverted author names. This has been corrected above.

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Talenti, G., Picariello, S., Robson, C. et al. Magnetic resonance features and cranial nerve involvement in pediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcomas. Neuroradiology 63, 1925–1934 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-021-02765-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-021-02765-0

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