Unexpected Extracardiac Multifocal Adult Rhabdomyomas With 10 Lesions of the Head and Neck: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Abstract

Adult rhabdomyomas (ARMs) are rare solitary benign neoplasms of the head and neck, and multifocal ARMs are even rarer. Owing to the low incidence and scanty knowledge of this peculiar entity, several patients have been reported to be misdiagnosed or overtreated. This report describes a patient with multifocal ARMs with as many as 10 synchronous lesions. In addition, all published cases of this entity in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were reviewed up to March 1, 2017. Overall, 10 of 29 reported cases had more than 2 lesions, with a maximum of 10 synchronous masses in the present report. Multifocal ARMs usually present as slow-growing lumps in the parapharyngeal region, with a predilection for older men. Treatments of multifocal ARMs should be tailored and close follow-up is recommended for tiny lesions located in vital structures. In addition, multifocal ARMs should be differentially diagnosed from other multifocal lesions in the head and neck region to avoid aggressive excision and produce a favorable outcome for patients.