Rhabdomyosarcoma

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Rhabdomyosarcoma, often abbreviated RMS, is a malignant tumour of skeletal muscle.

General

  • Most common paediatric sarcoma.
  • ~6% of all childhood cancer.

Classification

Histologic

  1. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.
    • Usually young adults/adolescents.
    • Early mets common.
    • Usu. arises in regions with skeletal muscle.
  2. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
    • Usual <10 years old.
    • Typically locally invasive.
    • Usu. arises in regions without skeletal muscle.

Molecular and histologic

  1. Translocation-positive alveolar RMS.
  2. Translocation-negative alveolar RMS.
  3. Embryonal RMS.

Notes:

  • Translocation-negative alveolar RMS shares gene expression prolifing characteristics with embryonal RMS -- suggesting these can be grouped together.

Microscopic

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

Features:[1]

  • Alveolus-like pattern -- key low-power feature.
    • Fibrous septae lined by tumour cells.
      • Cells may "fall-off" the septa, i.e. be detached/scattered in the alveolus-like space.
      • Space between fibrous sepate may be filled with tumour = solid variant of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.
  • Rhabdomyoblasts - essentially diagnostic.
    • Eccentric nucleus.
    • Moderate amount of intensly eosinophilic cytoplasm.
    • Striations -- if you're really lucky; these are not common.

Other features:

  • Nuclear pleomorphism - common.
  • Mitoses - common.

Notes:

  • Well-differentiated rhabdomyoblasts are uncommon in alveolar RMS.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma

Features:[1]

  • Randomly arranged small cells.
  • Myxoid matrix.
  • Strap cells:
    • Tadpole-like morphology.
  • Rhabdomyoblasts - essentially diagnostic.
    • Eccentric nucleus.
    • Moderate amount of intensly eosinophilic cytoplasm.
    • Striations -- if you're really lucky; these are not common.

Subtypes of embryonal RMS

There are two common subtypes of embryonal RMS. Both of them have a better prognosis that embryonal RMS not otherwise specified (NOS).

Common subtypes:

  1. Botryoid subtype:
    • Gross: Grape-like morphology.
    • Microscopic: Non-proliferating layer deep to the surface ("Cambrian layer").
  2. Spindle cell subtype.
    • General: may mimic leiomyosarcoma -- which is not common in the pediatric population.
    • Microscopic: vesicular growth pattern, spindle cells.

Anaplasia

Criteria:

  1. Hyperchromatic nuclei with size variation greater or equal to 3x.
  2. Multipolar (atypical) mitotic figures.

Subclassification:

  1. Focal - a few cells.
  2. Diffuse - cluster or sheets of anaplasia.

Notes:

  • Not subtle - can identify at low power.
  • Seen in 10-15% of RMS.
    • More common in older individuals.
  • Poorer prognosis in embryonal RMS.
    • No change in prognosis in alveolar RMS.

IHC

Panel of muscle markers -- DAM:

  • Desmin (best marker).
  • Actin.
  • Myogenin.

Subtyping via IHC

PST proposes[1] the following (presumably based on Makawitz et al.[2]):

IHC Translocation positive
alveolar RMS
Embryonal RMS Translocation negative
alveolar RMS
myogenin +ve -- diffuse +ve -- focal +ve -- diffuse
EGFR -ve +ve -ve
P-cadherin +ve -ve -ve
IGF2 -ve +ve +ve

A paper bu Wachtel at al.[3] proposes the use of:

  • AP2beta and P-cadherin +ve in translocation positive alveolar RMS, and
  • EGFR and fibrillin-2 +ve in embryonal RMS and translocation negative alveolar RMS.

Electron microscopy

Features:

  • Sarcomeric like structures - usu. in "bent" cells; cells that are U-shaped.

Molecular diagnostics

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

Common translocations (~80%):

  • t(1,13).
    • PAX7/FKHR fusion gene.
  • t(2,13).[4]
    • PAX3/FKHR fusion gene.

Notes:

  • t(1,13) vs. t(2,13) -- t(1,13) usually: younger age, extremity lesion, localized disease, better survival.
  • Several uncommon translocations exist.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 PST. 14 February 2011.
  2. Makawita S, Ho M, Durbin AD, Thorner PS, Malkin D, Somers GR (2009). "Expression of insulin-like growth factor pathway proteins in rhabdomyosarcoma: IGF-2 expression is associated with translocation-negative tumors". Pediatr. Dev. Pathol. 12 (2): 127–35. doi:10.2350/08-05-0477.1. PMID 18788888.
  3. Wachtel M, Runge T, Leuschner I, et al. (February 2006). "Subtype and prognostic classification of rhabdomyosarcoma by immunohistochemistry". J. Clin. Oncol. 24 (5): 816–22. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.03.4934. PMID 16391296.
  4. URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/606597. Accessed on: 18 August 2010.