Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the soft tissues in the body. This phase III trial aims to maintain excellent outcomes in patients with very low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (VLR-RMS) while decreasing the burden of therapy using treatment with 24 weeks of vincristine and dactinomycin (VA) and examines the use of centralized molecular risk stratification in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma. Another aim of the study it to find out how well patients with low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (LR-RMS) respond to standard chemotherapy when patients with VLR-RMS and patients who have rhabdomyosarcoma with DNA mutations get separate treatment. Finally, this study examines the effect of therapy intensification in patients who have RMS cancer with DNA mutations to see if their outcomes can be improved.

This single arm study is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a radically different approach for an exceptionally high-risk subset of MES with widely metastatic disease (WMES). We incorporate the use of evolutionary principles that apply to species and population dynamics as related to adaptation and extinction to populations of cancer cells that similarly adapt and that we are attempting to make extinct, resulting in a cure for the patient. Such principles include an initial intense first strike to deplete the bulk of the cancer cells, followed by a series of sequential second strikes towards eliminating residual, resistant populations, followed by a prolonged period of maintenance chemotherapy to eliminate any remnant cells, using agents generally regarded to be active against newly diagnosed ES.