Mediastinal rhabdomyoma: a case report and review of the literature

Int J Surg Pathol. 2002 Oct;10(4):313-8. doi: 10.1177/106689690201000414.

Abstract

An incidental anterior-superior mediastinal rhabdomyoma is reported in a 68-year-old man who died of hypovolemic shock as a result of massive blood loss due to transection of aorta after being hit by a moving motor vehicle. This is the third reported case of mediastinal rhabdomyoma in the literature. The immunohistochemical evidence of expression of muscle-specific markers supports the rhabdomyomatous nature of this neoplasm, and electron microscopic demonstration of haphazardly arranged myofilaments with prominent Z bands, "jack-straws" in the mitochondria, and the absence of desmosomes is supportive of extracardiac origin of this rhabdomyoma. The possible histogenesis of extracardiac adult rhabdomyoma (EAR) in the anterior-superior mediastinum from the thymic myoid cells is also discussed.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Actin Cytoskeleton / ultrastructure
  • Actins / analysis
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis
  • Desmin / analysis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mediastinal Neoplasms / chemistry
  • Mediastinal Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Mitochondria / ultrastructure
  • Myoglobin / analysis
  • Neoplasm Proteins / analysis
  • Rhabdomyoma / chemistry
  • Rhabdomyoma / pathology*
  • Thymus Gland / pathology

Substances

  • Actins
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Desmin
  • Myoglobin
  • Neoplasm Proteins