Sarcoma botryoides normally is found in children under 8 years of age. Onset of symptoms occurs at age 3 years (38.3 months) on average. Cases of older women with this condition have also been reported.

The disease used to be uniformly fatal, with a 5-year survival rate between 10 and 35%. As a result, treatment was radical surgery. New multidrug chemotherapy regimens with or without radiation therapy are now used in combination with less radical surgery with good results, although outcome data are not yet available.

Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma has been fatal. Recovery rates have increased by 50 percent since 1975. In children five years of age or younger survival rates are up to 65 percent. In adolescents younger than 15 years old, the survival rate has increased up to 30 percent.

The prognosis for rhabdomyosarcoma has improved greatly in recent decades, with over 70% of patients surviving for five years after diagnosis.

Patients who have been diagnosed with ARMS often have poor outcomes. The four year survival rate without remission for local ARMS tumors is 65 percent, while the four year survival rate with metastatic ARMS is only 15 percent. Patients who have metastatic ARMS positive with PAX3-FOXO1 fusion often have a poorer outcome than patients positive with PAX7-FOXO1 fusion, with a four-year survival rate of 8 percent and 75 percent respectively. Other variables affect the four year survival rate, such as, primary tumor site, size of primary tumor, amount of local invasion, number of distal lymph nodes spread to, and whether metastasis has occurred. Prognosis for patients who have primary tumor sites within the bones often have higher survival rates and respond well to treatment options. While patients who have primary tumor sites within the nasopharynx region with metastases to the breast have very poor outcomes. Patients who are fusion protein negative with low risk clinical features should be treated with reduced therapy, while patients who are fusion protein positive with low risk clinical features should be treated as an intermediate risk and have more intensive therapy regimens.

Although reliable and comprehensive incidence statistics are nonexistent, LCLC-RP is a rare tumor, with only a few hundred cases described in the scientific literature to date. LCLC's made up about 10% of lung cancers in most historical series, equating to approximately 22,000 cases per year in the U.S. Of these LCLC cases, it is estimated that about 1% will eventually develop the rhabdoid phenotype during tumor evolution and progression. In one large series of 902 surgically resected lung cancers, only 3 cases (0.3%) were diagnosed as LCLC-RP. In another highly selected series of large-cell lung carcinoma cases, only 4 of 45 tumors (9%) were diagnosed as the rhabdoid phenotype using the 10% criterion, but another 10 (22%) had at least some rhabdoid cell formation. It appears likely, therefore, that LCLC-RP probably comprises between 0.1% and 1.0% of all lung malignancies.

Similar to nearly all variants of lung carcinoma, large cell lung carcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype appears to be highly related to tobacco smoking. It also appears to be significantly more common in males than in females.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) is a rare histological form of cancer of connective tissue wherein the mesenchymally-derived malignant cells resemble the primitive developing skeletal muscle of the embryo. It is the most common soft tissue sarcoma occurring in children.

Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma is a subtype of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma first described by Cavazzana, Schmidt and Ninfo in 1992. This subtype has a more favorable clinical course and prognosis than usual embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma typically occurs in young males and most commonly occurs in paratesticular soft tissue, followed by the head and neck.

Sarcomas are quite rare with only 15,000 new cases per year in the United States. Sarcomas therefore represent about one percent of the 1.5 million new cancer diagnoses in that country each year.

Sarcomas affect people of all ages. Approximately 50% of bone sarcomas and 20% of soft tissue sarcomas are diagnosed in people under the age of 35. Some sarcomas, such as leiomyosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), are more common in adults than in children. Most high-grade bone sarcomas, including Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma, are much more common in children and young adults.

Prognosis and treatment is the same as for the most common type of ovarian cancer, which is epithelial ovarian cancer.

The median survival of primary peritoneal carcinomas is usually shorter by 2–6 months time when compared with serous ovarian cancer. Studies show median survival varies between 11.3–17.8 months. One study reported 19-40 month median survival (95% CI) with a 5-year survival of 26.5%.

Elevated albumin levels have been associated with a more favorable prognosis.

NUT carcinoma (formerly NUT midline carcinoma), is a rare genetically defined, very aggressive squamous cell epithelial cancer that usually arises in the midline of the body and is characterized by a chromosomal rearrangement in the nuclear protein in testis gene. In approximately 75% of cases, the coding sequence of "NUTM1" on chromosome 15q14 is fused to "BRD4" or "BRD3", which creates a chimeric gene that encodes the "BRD-NUT" fusion protein. The remaining cases, the fusion of NUTM1 is to an unknown partner gene, usually called "NUT"-variant.

LCLC-RP are considered to be especially aggressive tumors with a dismal prognosis. Many published cases have shown short survival times after diagnosis. Some studies suggest that, as the proportion of rhabdoid cells in the tumor increases, the prognosis tends to worsen, although this is most pronounced when the proportion of rhabdoid cells exceeds 5%. With regard to "parent" neoplasms other than LCLC, adenocarcinomas with rhabdoid features have been reported to have worse prognoses than adenocarcinomas without rhabdoid features, although an "adenocarcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype" tumor variant has not been specifically recognized as a distinct entity under the WHO-2004 classification system.

Interestingly, there are case reports of rhabdoid carcinomas recurring after unusually long periods, which is unusual for a fast-growing, aggressive tumor type. One report described a very early stage patient whose tumor recurred 6 years after initial treatment. Although rapidly progressive, fulminant courses seem to be the rule in this entity, long-term survival has also been noted, even post-metastectomy in late stage, distant metastatic disease.

Clear-cell adenocarcinoma is a type of adenocarcinoma that shows clear cells.

Types include:

- Clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina

- Clear-cell ovarian carcinoma

- Uterine clear-cell carcinoma

- Clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the lung (which is a type of Clear-cell carcinoma of the lung)

See also:

- Clear-cell squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma that was characterized by Folpe et al. in 2002. It is microscopically characterized by primitive round cells forming microalveoli, nests, and cords in a sclerotic background.

ARMS usually occurs in the skeletal muscle tissue of the extremities, but it is still very common in the torso, head, and neck regions. The primary tumor often presents itself as a soft mass of tissue that is painless, but the tumor can be detected if it starts to put pressure on other structures in the primary site. A large fraction of patients who are diagnosed with ARMS, roughly 25-30 percent, will have metastases at the time of diagnosis. The standard sites for metastases to form are the bone marrow, the bones, and distal nodes. Typical treatment options for patients who have been diagnosed with ARMS include standard surgery, radiation therapy, and intensive chemotherapy.

In addition to being named based on the tissue of origin, sarcomas are also assigned a grade (low, intermediate, or high) based on the presence and frequency of certain cellular and subcellular characteristics associated with malignant biological behavior. Low grade sarcomas are usually treated surgically, although sometimes radiation therapy or chemotherapy are used. Intermediate and high grade sarcomas are more frequently treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Since higher grade tumors are more likely to undergo metastasis (invasion and spread to locoregional and distant sites), they are treated more aggressively. The recognition that many sarcomas are sensitive to chemotherapy has dramatically improved the survival of patients. For example, in the era before chemotherapy, long-term survival for patients with localized osteosarcoma was only approximately 20%, but now has risen to 60–70%.

Medulloepithelioma carries a dismal prognosis with a median survival of 5 months.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma in children as well as the third most common solid tumor in children. Recent estimates place the incidence of the disease at approximately 4.5 case per 1 million children/adolescents with approximately 250 new cases in the United States each year. With the vast majority of cases of RMS occurring in children or adolescents, two-thirds of reported cases occur in youths under the age of 10. RMS also occurs slightly more often in males than in females, with a ratio of approximately 1.3–1.5:1. In addition, slightly lower prevalence of the disease has been reported in black and Asian children relative to white children. In most cases, there are no clear predisposing risk factors for the development of RMS. It tends to occur sporadically with no obvious cause. However, RMS has been correlated with familial cancer syndromes and congenital abnormalities including neurofibromatosis type 1, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Li–Fraumeni syndrome, cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome, and Costello syndrome. It has also been associated with parental use of cocaine and marijuana.

Although the precise causes are not known, a link with certain variants of BRCA1/2 has been described. Furthermore, women with BRCA1/2 mutation have a 5% risk of developing primary peritoneal cancer even after prophylactic oophorectomy.

Primary peritoneal carcinoma shows similar rates of tumor suppressor gene dysfunction (p53, BRCA, WT1) as ovarian cancer and can also show an increased expression of HER-2/neu.

An association with vascular endothelial growth factor has been observed.

In the United States, about 20-30 cases are reported each year. This may be a gross underestimate of the total number of cases as few laboratories have the reagents and expertise to make the diagnosis. The symptoms are similar to other forms of cancer and dependent on the stage. While generalized symptoms (weight loss and fatigue) may be seen, site specific symptoms are also present. If the tumor involves the head and neck region (in about 35%), then pain, a mass, obstructive symptoms, among others, may be experienced. NUT midline carcinomas are not specific to any tissue type or organ.

Common sites include the head, neck and mediastinum. The median age at diagnosis is 17 years, but older patients may be affected.

Embryonal carcinoma is a relatively uncommon type of germ cell tumour that occurs in the ovaries and testes.

Adult survivors of childhood cancer have some physical, psychological, and social difficulties.

Premature heart disease is a major long-term complication in adult survivors of childhood cancer. Adult survivors are eight times more likely to die of heart disease than other people, and more than half of children treated for cancer develop some type of cardiac abnormality, although this may be asymptomatic or too mild to qualify for a clinical diagnosis of heart disease.

Endodermal sinus tumor (EST), also known as yolk sac tumor (YST), is a member of the germ cell tumor group of cancers. It is the most common testicular tumor in children under 3, and is also known as infantile embryonal carcinoma. This age group has a very good prognosis. In contrast to the pure form typical of infants, adult endodermal sinus tumors are often found in combination with other kinds of germ cell tumor, particularly teratoma and embryonal carcinoma. While pure teratoma is usually benign, endodermal sinus tumor is malignant.

Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma is difficult to diagnose. Factors that increase the likelihood of this cancer include Li-Fraumeni syndrome, type one Neurofibromatosis, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Costello syndrome, and Noonan syndrome. Each contribute to deformations of bones, tissue, and muscles.

Polyembryoma is a rare, very aggressive form of germ cell tumor usually found in the ovaries. Polyembryoma has features of both yolk sac tumour and undifferentiated teratoma/embryonal carcinoma, with a characteristic finding of embryoid bodies lying in a loose mesenchymal stroma.

It has been found in association with Klinefelter syndrome.