Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma of nasal presentation: Case report

Abstract

Sarcoma is a malignant tumor originating in mesenchymal primitive cells that in normal circumstances develops in supportive tissues such as muscle and bone. There are three rhabdomyosarcoma variants according to its histological presentation: Embryonal, alveolar, and pleomorphic with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma being the most aggressive. The case is presented of an 8-year-old male patient who started with a progressively growing left nasal wing 3-4 mm mass with no color change diagnosed as an alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with pathology documenting a small round blue cell tumor with positive immunohistochemistry to desmin and myogenin. Skull and face magnetic resonance, chest computed tomography, and bone marrow aspirate were negative for disease extension. The lesion was macroscopically resected at 100%, with pathology reporting isolated tumor foci, with microscopic residual tumor on lateral margins, and it is therefore finally classified as E II. This is a very rare neoplasm with an unusual presentation, with only 4 cases reported in the literature, hence, the importance of taking into account this diagnostic possibility as well as the knowledge on how to approach it. (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).