ON THIS PAGE: You will find out more about what factors increase the chance of developing rhabdomyosarcoma. Use the menu to see other pages.

What are the risk factors for rhabdomyosarcoma?

A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chance of developing cancer. Although risk factors often influence the development of cancer, most do not directly cause cancer. Some people with several risk factors never develop cancer, while others with no known risk factors do.

Doctors and researchers don’t know what causes most childhood cancers. In most cases of rhabdomyosarcoma, there are no clear risk factors. However, it has been shown that children who have the following rare, inherited conditions have a somewhat higher risk of developing rhabdomyosarcoma:

• Li-Fraumeni syndrome

• Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome

• Neurofibromatosis

• Costello syndrome

• Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome

The next section in this guide is Symptoms and Signs. It explains what changes or medical problems rhabdomyosarcoma can cause. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.