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  5. If cancer spreads

If rhabdomyosarcoma spreads

  1. Home
  2. Cancer information
  3. Cancer types
  4. Rhabdomyosarcoma
  5. If cancer spreads
Last medical review:

Cancer cells can spread from where they started to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.

Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your child's healthcare team plan treatment and future care. If rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) spreads, it can spread to the following:

  • lungs
  • bones
  • bone marrow
  • liver
  • distant muscles
  • distant lymph nodes
  • breasts
  • brain or spinal cord (called the central nervous system, or CNS)

Expert review and references

  • Paul Nathan, MD, MSc, FRCPC
  • Normand Laperriere, MD, FRCPC
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma. Provincial Health Services Authority. Musculoskeletal and Sarcoma. Vancouver, BC: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/. Friday, March 20, 2020.
  • PDQ® Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board . Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma Treatment (PDQ®) – Patient Version . Bethesda, MD : National Cancer Institute ; 2019 : https://www.cancer.gov/.
  • PDQ® Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board . Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma Treatment (PDQ®) – Health Professional Version . Bethesda, MD : National Cancer Institute ; 2020 : https://www.cancer.gov/.
  • Cripe TP . Medscape Reference: Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma. WebMD LLC; 2018: https://www.medscape.com/.