An "incomplete" spinal cord injury involves preservation of motor or sensory function below the level of injury in the spinal cord. To be classed as incomplete, there must be some preservation of sensation or motion in the areas innervated by S4 to S5, e.g. voluntary external anal sphincter contraction. The nerves in this area are connected to the very lowest region of the spinal cord, and retaining sensation and function in these parts of the body indicates that the spinal cord is only partially damaged. Incomplete injury by definition includes a phenomenon known as sacral sparing: some degree of sensation is preserved in the sacral dermatomes, even though sensation may be more impaired in other, higher dermatomes below the level of the lesion. Sacral sparing has been attributed to the fact that the sacral spinal pathways are not as likely as the other spinal pathways to become compressed after injury due to the lamination of fibers within the spinal cord. Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality
Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality exists when SCI is present but there is no evidence of spinal column injury on radiographs. Spinal column injury is trauma that causes fracture of the bone or instability of the ligaments in the spine; this can coexist with or cause injury to the spinal cord, but each injury can occur without the other. Abnormalities might show up on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but the term was coined before MRI was in common use.
People that have more distant tumors — tumors that have spread to distant parts away from the primary site — have higher mortality rate when compared to people with only localized tumors. Age of Diagnosis
In a 2020 case study of 464 adolescents aged 0–19 years diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma between 1988 to 2016, children who were diagnosed between ages 5–9 years had the most promising prognosis. In contrast, infants less than 1 years old had the worst outcome, which may be associated to the lower doses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy administered and naive immune system. Treatment
Treatment for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma involves the use of combination therapy consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, and/or radiation therapy. In order to create an optimal treatment plan for the individual, therapy is often based upon risk stratigication (low, intermediate, or high risk) based off of individuals disease stage, size of tumor, progression of disease, surgery resection, age at diagnosis, and site of tumor. In the US, a combination of Vincristine, Actinomycin D, and cyclophosphamide are often the chemotherapeutics used to treat rhabdomyosarcoma. In contrast, the regimen in Europe utilizes Vincristine, Actinomycin D, and ifosfamide. When the US and European regimen were studied side by side, the two regimens were comparable in terms of efficacy outcomes. Radiation therapy continues to be an integral component of rhabdomyosarcoma treatment, however, the long-term safety and treatment related complications remain a concern.