Can rhabdomyosarcoma be prevented?

The risk of many adult cancers can be reduced with certain lifestyle changes (such as staying at a healthy weight or quitting smoking), but at this time there are no known ways to prevent most cancers in children.

The only known risk factors for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) – age, gender, and certain inherited conditions – cannot be changed. There are no known lifestyle-related or environmental causes of RMS, so at this time there is no way to protect against these cancers.

Even though we do not know how to prevent RMS, most children with this disease can be treated successfully.