Congenital rhabdoid sarcoma with cutaneous metastases

The case history is presented of a newborn baby with a rare type of cancer known as rhabdoid sarcoma. This type of tumor usually arises in the kidney, and spreading to the skin is not common. In this case, the patient had a large tumor on the right side of the face, with a nodule and a plaque noted on the leg and back, respectively. Other abnormalities, and the overall poor prognosis, led to extubation (removal of the breathing tube) on the third day of life, resulting in death. A review of the medical literature on rhabdoid sarcoma is presented. This diagnosis generally has a grim prognosis, with the longest surviving patient remaining disease-free for 44 months: most die within two years of diagnosis. The tumor is found most often in male newborns and infants, although adult cases have been reported. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)