Rhabdomyosarcoma of the ovary: ultrastructural study of a case and review of literature

Abstract

Pure rhabdomyosarcomas are extremely rare and lethal primary neoplasms of the ovary. The available literature revealed 14 such cases. This report describes the light and electron microscopic findings of another case. At the electron microscopic level, rhabdomyogenesis recapitulates skeletal muscle differentiation during early fetal life. Rhabdomyoblasts in the ovary may arise from either the uncommitted stromal fibroblasts or from fibroblasts of endometriotic stroma. The age of patients at diagnosis ranged between 13 months and 86 years with 60% of women aged 40 years and older. About 50% of the cases were diagnosed with disease beyond the ovary, and survival ranged between 18 days and 15 months after diagnosis. Aggressive combination therapy including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy appears to be the only hope for improved survival.