Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma: a clinicopathologic and electron microscopy study.
A 66-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with a neurological syndrome characterized by ataxia and diplopia. Magnetic resonance of the brain documented an ischemic medullary lesion. Examination of the heart revealed a grade 2/6 systolic murmur at the left sternal border and apex that radiated towards the axilla. The echocardiography study showed a mild mitral regurgitation, and an abnormally enlarged posterior papillary muscle was found in the left ventricle. Two weeks after admission, the patient died suddenly due to a stroke. At autopsy, a recent vast swollen ischemic cerebral infraction was found. Furthermore, two old infarcts were observed in the spleen. A cardiac examination showed a white-gray ulcered mass in the left ventricle and histological analysis revealed a rhabdomyosarcoma.
Attanasio
A
A
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Università degli Studi Tor Vergata, Roma.
Romitelli
S
S
Mauriello
A
A
Palmieri
G
G
Stefani
A
A
Pierangeli
L
L
D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology*