Rhabdomyosarcoma mimicking Acute Leukemia in a 42-year-old female

Abstract

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a highly malignant soft tissue sarcoma that typically affects children and adolescents. Histologic appearance of RMS is similar to that of other small round blue cell tumors of childhood. Thus, RMS can mimic acute leukemia, both clinically and histologically. We report a case of a 42-year-old female patient who presented with pancytopenia. She was referred to our centre with a diagnosis of acute leukemia after bone marrow studies. Bone marrow sample was reviewed at our centre, which showed atypical cells resembling blasts. However, myogenin positivity by immunohistohemistry in bone marrow specimen confirmed the diagnosis of RMS infiltrating bone marrow.