Rhabdoid Tumor of the Kidney in an Adult: Review of the Literature and Report of a Case Responding to Interleukin-2

Abstract

Rhabdoid tumor of the kidney is an uncommon and highly aggressive malignancy usually found in the pediatric age group. This tumor does not respond well to aggressive chemotherapy regimens and survival tends to be short. Only two cases of rhabdoid tumor of the kidney occurring in adults have been described previously. The third case of a rhabdoid tumor of the kidney in an adult is presented here. This clinical case report is unique not only because of the rare occurrence of this tumor in adulthood but because the patient described had an objective antitumor response to outpatient low dose interleukin-2. This single case report may have therapeutic implications for other patients with this tumor.

Extra‐renal non‐cerebral rhabdoid tumours

“…As a consequence, several studies have emphasized the difficulties to identify soft‐tissue RTs 5. More cases are now reported in adults with involvement of the brain 7–11, kidney 12–15, or other organs 16–26.…”

Sporadic haemangioblastoma of the kidney with rhabdoid features and focal CD10 expression: report of a case and literature review

“…Although most of MRTs afflict young children, there still are sporadic cases affecting adults [7,8]. Several features seen in our case do not support the diagnosis of MRTs: (i) MRTs generally show vesicular chromatin, prominent nucleoli and hyaline intracytoplasmic inclusion [8].…”

Pure malignant rhabdoid tumor of the left kidney in an adult: A case report and review of the literature

“…In the present case, although electron microscopic examination and genetic and/or molecular analysis were not performed due to technical limitations at the time, a pathological diagnosis of pure MRTK was established based on the histological and immunohistochemical analysis, whereas several previous researchers have based the diagnosis of rhabdoid tumors solely on morphological and immunohistochemical findings (1–3). …”