Epidemiological and Histopathological Profiles of Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma in Two Anatomy and Pathological Cytology Laboratories in Antananarivo Chu/Jra and Salfa Andohalo

Introduction: Rhabdomyosarcoma is rare in children under 15 years of age. In Madagascar, there are few studies concerning rhabdomyosarcoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological and histological aspects of pediatric rhabdomyosarcomas in two Antananarivo pathological anatomy and cytology laboratories: CHU-JRA and SALFA Andohalo. Materials and Method: This is a retrospective, descriptive, bicentric study over a 10-year period from January 2010 to December 2019 of rhabdomyosarcoma cases diagnosed in the paediatric population. The parameters studied were age, gender, location and histological diagnosis. Results: We collected 37 cases. Patients ranged in age from 08 months to 15 years, with a mean age of 6.28 years. The sex ratio was 1.46. The most frequently encountered histological types were embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (56.75%), followed by alveolar type (27.03%), spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma (08.11%) and botryoid type (08.11%). Localizations in order of frequency were head and neck (24.32%), genitourinary regions (24.32%), limbs (18.92%), buttocks (18.92%), trunk (10.52%) and secondary localizations (2.70%). Conclusion: Pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma is rare. Localizations are mainly head and neck and genitourinary tract. The lack of immunohistochemical examination is a limitation of this study.