Common Musculoskeletal Tumors of Childhood and Adolescence

Common malignant tumors of the musculoskeletal system in children, adolescents, and young adults (<30 years old) include rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. Together they constitute about 10 percent of newly diagnosed cancers in children, adolescents, and young adults (about 1000 cases annually in the United States). Although relatively common in young persons, these tumors are rare in older people.Rhabdomyosarcomas constitute more than half of all soft-tissue sarcomas in children.1 Other soft-tissue sarcomas are highly heterogeneous and individually rare (e.g., synovial sarcoma and sarcomas of soft parts); thus, they are not discussed further. Osteosarcoma comprises several high-grade histologic variants and . . .