After childhood rhabdomyosarcoma has been diagnosed, treatment is based in part on the stage of the cancer and sometimes it is based on whether all the cancer was removed by surgery.

The process used to find out if cancer has spread within the tissue or to other parts of the body is called staging. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment. The doctor will use results of the diagnostic tests to help find out the stage of the disease.

Treatment for childhood rhabdomyosarcoma is based in part on the stage and sometimes on the amount of cancer that remains after surgery to remove the tumor. The pathologist will use a microscope to check the tissues removed during surgery, including tissue samples from the edges of the areas where the cancer was removed and the lymph nodes. This is done to see if all the cancer cells were taken out during the surgery.