Primary oesophageal rhabdomyosarcoma

Primary Gastric Rhabdomyosarcoma

Primary gastric rhabdomyosarcoma is extremely rare. An 87-year-old man visited our clinic with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-CT revealed a massive tumor originating from the muscularis propria of the stomach along with splenic vein tumor thrombosis. We diagnosed the patient with primary gastric rhabdomyosarcoma by an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration/biopsy.

Embryonic esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma in an adult male: A case report and literature review

Basic principle

There exists a rare aggressive neoplasm called esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma. It originates in cells of the striated muscle or mesenchymal cells which differ from the striated muscle. This tumor has a high degree of malignancy and extensive metastasis. Masses of the sick people are at a high phase when going to hospital. Consequently, the prognosis is exceedingly bad.

Patient concerns

A 54-year-old male presented with dysphagia as the initial symptom. Gastroscopy showed an irregular protuberant lesion about 18–22 cm from the incisor. The lesion was observed to be pathological under gastroscopy and was diagnosed as an (esophageal) sarcoma.

Diagnosis

Embryonic esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma.

Interventions

After receiving two cycles of DP (docetaxel and cisplatin) chemotherapy in the local hospital, the patient received 60 Gy of radiotherapy in 30 fractions combined with chemotherapy at our hospital. Dysphagia was relieved, and the tumor appeared significantly shrunken on imaging after the treatment.

Outcomes

Lung metastasis occurred 1 month after radiotherapy, and the patient died of pulmonary edema on March 11, 2022.

Lessons

Previously reported cases of embryonic esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma are few. Theoretically, the disease should occur in adolescents; nevertheless, our case was a man who was in middle-aged; the neoplasm was in an unusual position: the upper part of the esophagus. Moreover, the patient initially had good response to the combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Although he died 8 months after diagnosis, the presented data represent a valuable resource for understanding the survival benefits of treating embryonic esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma patients with radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. In addition, we reviewed the previously reported literature, and a total of 17 cases of esophageal rhabdomyosarcoma were identified and analyzed.

Primary duodenal embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in adults: a case report

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a soft tissue sarcoma that histologically resembles embryonic skeletal muscle. It is a rare malignancy in adults with a predilection in the head and neck, the genitourinary tract, and other extremities. However, RMS of the gastrointestinal tract is an even rarer condition that merits presentation and discussion. Here, we report on a case of primary duodenal embryonal RMS in an adult.

Rhabdomyosarcoma in the abdominal cavity of a 12-month-old female donryu rat

Neoplasms of skeletal muscle origin are very rare in the rat. Recently, we experienced a case of rhabdomyosarcoma as a white mass involving the junction of the esophagus and stomach in the abdominal cavity of a 12-month-old female Donryu rat. Histopathologically, the neoplastic cells composing the mass invasively spreaded from the lamina propia to the tunica serosa in the stomach as well as the esophagus. Although the neoplastic cells varied in appearance, pleomorphic atypical cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm were prominent. Some tumor cells were stained blue with phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin. The nuclei of spindle-shaped neoplastic cells were arranged longitudinally like beads. Multinucleate giant cells and mitotic figures were also frequently observed. Immunohistochemically, these neoplastic cells were positive for desmin and myoglobin, whereas they were negative for alpha-smooth muscle actin. Taken together these findings, this tumor was diagnosed as a pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma, probably derived from the muscle layer of the lower part of the esophagus. This is the first report of rhabdomyosarcoma in a Donryu rat.