Rhabdomyosarcoma of the cervix in adult women and younger patients

Abstract Objectives Cervical rhabdomyosarcoma is extremely rare, and there is a paucity of literature on the subject. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and pathologic features of cervical rhabdomyosarcoma. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients with cervical rhabdomyosarcoma who presented to our institution from 1980 to 2010. We reviewed pathologic, demographic, and clinical information. Results During the study period, 11 females presented with cervical rhabdomyosarcoma. The median age at presentation was 18.4 years, and 6 patients were < 19 years old at diagnosis. Vaginal bleeding was the most common presenting symptom, and a vaginal mass was often a co-presenting symptom. Eight patients (73%) presented with stage IB disease, and 8 (73%) presented with the embryonal (botryoid) histologic subtype. Nine patients (82%) received multimodal therapy consisting of surgery with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both. All patients were without evidence of disease after completion of primary therapy, but 3 patients experienced local recurrence. At a median follow-up of 23 months, 6 patients (55%) were without evidence of disease, 1 (9%) was alive with disease, 1 (9%) had died of disease, and 3 (27%) had died of other causes. Three patients (27%) had other primary malignancies in addition to rhabdomyosarcoma—1 had a Sertoli–Leydig tumor, 1 had a Sertoli–Leydig tumor and a pinealoblastoma, and 1 had thyroid cancer and a parotid adenocarcinoma. Conclusions With multimodal therapy, cervical rhabdomyosarcoma appears to be associated with a good prognosis. Favorable prognostic factors such as early stage at diagnosis and a favorable histologic subtype may contribute to the excellent observed survival.