Three benign forms of muscle tumors and three variants of rhabdomyosarcoma are discussed from the point of view of their histology and behabior. Recent combined modality therapy has significantly improved the prognosis in at least the embryonal form of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Rhabdomyosarcoma of the larynx is extremely rare in adults, as only 17 well-documented cases have been previously reported in the English-language literature. Of these, only 2 cases (both male) involved the alveolar subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma, and neither involved the true vocal folds. We report a case of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma of the true vocal fold in 54-year-old woman. She was successful...

Cancer stem cells or tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are a small subpopulation of cells that have the capacity to self-renew, differentiate and initiate tumors. These cells may function in tumor initiation, aggression and recurrence. Whether spheres derived from canine rhabdomyosarcoma cells have stem cell-like properties is unclear. We induced sphere formation in the canine rhabdomyosarcoma cell...

Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma mainly seen in children. Occasional aberrant staining with a variety of immunohistochemical markers has been noted. The aberrantly expressed markers include alpha-smooth muscle actin, cytokeratin, S100, neurofilaments, CD20, immunoglobins, and CD117. We report herein two pediatric cases displaying strong CD34 positivity and one...

The 2;13 chromosomal translocation in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma generates the chimeric protein PAX3-FKHR, which is a powerful transcriptional activator. We hypothesize that PAX3-FKHR regulates downstream effector genes involved in rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenesis. We evaluated alterations in expression of MET and neural cell adhesion molecule that were proposed previously as downstream targets of...

We report a case of rhabdomyosarcoma which occurred in a mediastinal teratoma in a 44-year-old man. Presentation symptoms were chest pain, hoarseness and a cough. Diagnosis was fortuitous, performed by the histological and immunohistochemical study of a mediastinal tumour biopsy specimen that showed embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac tumour components associated with the rhabdomyosarcoma. After c...

Primary embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of anterior neck involving the thyroid is extremely rare. This report is only the second of its kind that describes this form of nonorbital nonparameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma in a 7-year-old boy and adds to a new, seldom-reported variant of rhabdomyosarcoma in the head-neck region. The child presented with a huge anterior neck swelling that clinically resembled...

Sarcomas account for a very small percentage of the head and neck malignancies in adults Laryngeal sarcomas represent 1% of all laryngeal malignancies. Chondrosarcoma is the most common laryngeal sarcoma, and originates mostly from the cricoid cartilage. Less than 3% of all cervicocephalic rhabdomyosarcomas is located in the larynx and laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma is characterized by less aggresi...

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma arising from cells of myogenic lineage. They can be divided into Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS), Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) and Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. ARMS occurs in 10-25years age group and the most common sites being extremities, perirectal and perineal regions, head and neck region is frequently involved in childhood but is exceedingl...

Rhabdomyosarcoma of the maxillary sinus is uncommon in adults. The clinical course and appropriate treatment strategy for the disease remains to be elucidated. This article describes two adult patients with rhabdomyosarcoma of the maxillary sinus who achieved long-term survival after undergoing multimodal therapy. We also reviewed the literature regarding 23 patients who were 15 years of age or...