In Canada about 30 children under 14 are diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma each year. Osteosarcoma strikes 20 young people, Ewing's sarcoma affects 15 to 20, and fewer develop primitive neuroectodermal tumors.
The rarity of these tumors emphasizes the need for treatment by a small number of physicians in a limited number of children's cancer centers so that the most experienced physicians and expert care can be available. This also allows the most rapid accumulation of knowledge about treatment, since it facilitates cooperative studies between institutions. The great progress made in treating these tumors over the past two decades has been in large part due to cooperative clinical studies designed to find the most effective treatments.
