Rhabdomyosarcoma with heterologous cartilage of the uterine cervix: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of an aggressive neoplasm in a young female

Abstract

This report concerns a 20-year-old female who had a F.I.G.O. stage I rhabdomyosarcoma (sarcoma botryoides) of the cervix with a predominant embryonal pattern and heterologous cartilage that pursued an aggressive course despite surgery and chemotherapy. The patient had a pelvic recurrence, developed pulmonary metastases 15 months after diagnosis, and died 6 months later. Despite some previously published favorable prognostic assessments about this unique variant of cervical rhabdomyosarcoma, our limited experience would interject a note of caution, especially in the presence of a focal alveolar pattern and invasion of lymphatics in the cervix.