title: Pleural effusion cytology of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
abstract: This case report concerns an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the testis in a 31-yr-old white male patient who underwent radical left orchiectomy, followed by combined irradiation and chemotherapy, and who 2 yr later presented with dyspnea at rest, nonproductive cough, and lower back pain for 1 wk. Chest radiographs demonstrated a bilateral pleural effusion and diffuse infiltrating lesion of the pleurae, mimicking a mesothelioma. The pleural fluid displayed noncohesive, malignant, small, round cells about 2-5 times larger than mature lymphocytes. They had large, darkly stained, pleomorphic nuclei and bubbly cytoplasm with poorly defined borders. The diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma was supported by a positive myosin immunostaining and ultrastructural findings of intracytoplasmic actin and myosin-type microfilaments. Our case is also notable in that the tumor was a pure rhabdomyosarcoma involving a testicular origin, and the patient is the oldest reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Cytology Section, Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, IL 60141, USA.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhoopalam
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Reyes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000473:pathology*; D018233:Rhabdomyosarcoma, Embryonal / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed