ganglioside--gd2 and Rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common pediatric soft tissue sarcoma. Despite aggressive therapy, patients with metastatic or relapsed disease experience dismal outcomes and novel therapies are urgently needed. In this study, we evaluated expression of disialoganglioside (GD2), a cell surface antigen with therapeutic implication, in 16 RMS patient samples. Scoring revealed GD2 positivity in 25% of the samples. These data suggest that a small subset of RMS tumors express GD2, which may be a therapeutic target in these patients.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Antigens, Neoplasm; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Gangliosides; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Soft Tissue Neoplasms