{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:15:25Z","timestamp":1760058925354,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759968000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\nBackground<\/jats:title>\nParameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma (PM-RMS) represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), given its location and its propensity for local and intracranial extension. This study determined the clinical and pathological profile and survival in children with PM-RMS treated at a single tertiary cancer treatment facility in Uganda.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nMethods<\/jats:title>\nThis was a retrospective study involving a review of records of children and adolescents aged below 18 years with rhabdomyosarcoma treated at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) between January 2016 and December 2020. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox\u2019s proportional hazards model were used for five-year survival analysis.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nResults<\/jats:title>\nWe identified 32 PM-RMS cases with a median age of 4.8 years (range 1\u201315 years). The most common tumor sites were the infratemporal region (25.0%), middle ear (21.8%), and nasopharynx (18.8%). Most patients (90.6%) were IRS group III, and 34.4% had regional lymph node involvement. Embryonal and alveolar histologies represented 46.9% and 21.8%, respectively, with 31.3% unclassified. Nearly all patients (90.6%) received chemotherapy, but only 43.8% underwent radiotherapy for local control. One- and five-year overall survival rates were 65% and 12%, respectively. Regional nodal involvement and receipt of local control were the significant predictors of survival (adjusted HR 4.61 and 6.07, respectively).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nConclusion<\/jats:title>\nOur study demonstrates a low survival rate among children with PM-RMS among the patient cohort, and treatment abandonment remains high. Regional nodal involvement and local control significantly predicted survival.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0334140","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:27:29Z","timestamp":1760030849000},"page":"e0334140","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinicopathological profile and survival in children with parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma in resource-limited settings: A single-center experience from 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