Bologna, September 3, 2026 – A simple PET scan, that is a standard imaging diagnosis, will be sufficient to detect the presence of bone marrow metastases caused by rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue tumor that affects especially children and adolescents. A true revolution, replacing the bone marrow biopsy previously required, which instead involves a much more invasive and painful procedure for these young patients.
The study was published in the international journal ‘Journal of Clinical Oncology’.
This is the result of an international study, the first of its kind in the world, with Federico Mercolini, a physician of the pediatric Oncohematology Unit at IRCCS Sant’Orsola of Bologna, directed by Arcangelo Prete, as the first author: highly significant results, also published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology, marking a real step forward.
Data from over 400 adolescents analyzed: lesions detected in 98% of cases
Going into detail, the study retrospectively analyzed data from 423 girls and boys affected by rhabdomyosarcoma, from European and North American centers, comparing PET results with those of bilateral bone marrow biopsy, so far considered the main diagnostic reference tool. The results were very encouraging: PET detected lesions with 98% sensitivity and only in one case did the biopsy show metastases not detected by PET.
The potential impact for patients is significant. Bone marrow biopsy requires anesthesia or sedation and is associated with pain, discomfort, and possible complications: reducing the use of this procedure, when possible, “means lightening the diagnostic path for children, limiting invasive exams without sacrificing the reliability of the information needed to plan therapy.”
The new practice will be included in the treatment protocol for this disease
Pediatric Oncohematology at the Irccs will introduce, in agreement with the centers of the European Network for soft tissue sarcomas of which it is a part, this clinical practice within the treatment protocol for patients with this disease (4 or 5 cases are diagnosed each year out of about 80 Italian cases), thus making an important and further step forward.
What are rhabdomyosarcomas?
They are malignant soft tissue tumors that mainly affect children and adolescents. They develop from immature cells involved in muscle tissue formation and can arise in any part of the body. The most frequent sites – it is emphasized – include the head and neck, limbs, the urogenital system, chest, and abdomen. In most cases, it is not possible to identify a precise cause for the disease, although in a small minority of patients some rare hereditary genetic conditions may increase the risk of developing it.
Dr. Federico Mercolini, first author of the study: “A perspective that gives us hope”
“We analyzed how PET with fluorodeoxyglucose, – explains Mercolini – an exam that uses a particular form of glucose as a tracer to visualize the metabolic activity of tissues. Tumor cells, in fact, consume more glucose than healthy ones and this way it is possible to detect them more easily. Thus, PET can detect them already during the staging phase, that is when we assess the extent of the disease. This diagnosis has so far only been performed with bone marrow biopsy. This perspective allows us to hope to apply a painless exam on young patients.”
De Pascale and Fabi: “An important and valuable step forward”
“When it comes to pediatric tumors, every step forward in research has an even greater value – add the president of the Region, Michele de Pascale, and the regional health policy assessor, Massimo Fabi –: it means offering children and their families new hopes, but also working so that diagnostic and treatment paths are increasingly effective, safe, and as light as possible. The study goes exactly in this direction: innovating research practices to develop less invasive approaches, capable of acquiring valuable information while reducing, as much as possible, the impact on young patients. Another result of which the entire regional research system can be proud.”
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