Long-term complications in patients with bladder-prostate rhabdomyosarcoma treated with brachytherapy: a systematic review

Introduction: Brachytherapy has been used for the multimodal treatment of pediatric bladder-prostate rhabdomyosarcoma in the last two decades. The aim of this systematic review is to gather the current evidence about this innovative technique with a special focus on long-term outcomes. Methods: According to PRISMA criteria, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for papers published between 2000 and 2022. Results: The search yielded 7338 papers but only seven were eligible, for a total of 196 children with a median age ranging from 23 to 32 months and a median follow-up ranging from eight to 64 months. The five-year overall survival was superior to 90%. However, at least one complication involving the urogenital apparatus was reported in 66 children (35%). Conclusion: Brachytherapy presented positive outcomes in terms of overall survival. On the other hand, further efforts should be made to decrease the risk of functional urogenital side effects.