Multimodality imaging of adult rhabdomyosarcoma: the added value of hybrid imaging

Abstract

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) represents more than 50% of paediatric soft tissue tumours. Conversely, it is extremely rare among adults, where it shows peculiar biological and clinical features that are still poorly investigated. RMS patients should be referred to a Sarcoma Centre, where the contribution of experienced radiologists plays a relevant role in the diagnostic assessment of the disease, including precise localisation, staging, image-guided biopsy, response evaluation after treatment and follow-up. Besides CT and MRI, hybrid imaging including positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and PET/MRI are giving an increasing contribution to provide functional insights about tumour biology and to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the imaging work-up. This review paper provides a revision of the pathology, clinical and radiological features of adult RMS, with a particular focus on the growing role of hybrid PET-based imaging.