Sustained intracellular mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity and FGF7 secretion into culture media during serum starvation of PAX3–FOXO1 rhabdomyosarcoma cells together with decreased cell viability after genetic silencing of FGFR2 or FGF7 was in keeping with a novel FGF7–FGFR2 autocrine loop. This evidence concerns the gene PAX3 and rhabdomyosarcoma.