Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma presenting as a lung mass: an uncommon presentation of a less common tumor

Description

Case: a male in his early 20s presented to the emergency department with back pain and abdominal pain for 1 month. The patient also complained of progressively worsening cough and shortness of breath. CT of the chest showed a very large enhancing destructive right lung mass with massive right pleural effusion, which caused a shift of mediastinal structures to the left as well as the significant mass effect on organs in the upper abdomen (figures 1 and 2). CT-guided biopsy of the mass and thoracocentesis was then performed. Histopathology showed nests of small round cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and surrounded by fibrous trabeculae. The tissue had areas of loss of cellular cohesion forming spaces suggestive of an alveolar pattern (figures 3 and 4). It containedPeriodic Acid-Schiff (PAS)positive glycogen as well. According to the TNM Classification of malignant tumours (TNM), it...

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