title: Rhabdomyoblastic Differentiation in Head and Neck Malignancies Other Than Rhabdomyosarcoma.
abstract: Rhabdomyosarcoma is a relatively common soft tissue sarcoma that frequently affects children and adolescents and may involve the head and neck. Rhabdomyosarcoma is defined by skeletal muscle differentiation which can be suggested by routine histology and confirmed by immunohistochemistry for the skeletal muscle-specific markers myogenin or myoD1. At the same time, it must be remembered that when it comes to head and neck malignancies, skeletal muscle differentiation is not limited to rhabdomyosarcoma. A lack of awareness of this phenomenon could lead to misdiagnosis and, subsequently, inappropriate therapeutic interventions. This review focuses on malignant neoplasms of the head and neck other than rhabdomyosarcoma that may exhibit rhabdomyoblastic differentiation, with an emphasis on strategies to resolve the diagnostic dilemmas these tumors may present. Axiomatically, no primary central nervous system tumors will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University, 401 N. Broadway, Weinberg 2249, Baltimore, MD, 21231, USA. jbisho16@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Justin A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.affiliation: Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Woodland Hills, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lester D R
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic Pathology, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardesa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Immunology and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Asterios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Triantafyllou
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências, Biomédicas e Medicina, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hellquist
authors.affiliation: Sahlgrenska Cancer Center, Department of Pathology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Goran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stenman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pieter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Slootweg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Allegiance Health, Jackson, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Devaney
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Pathology, CBLPath, Warwick, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gnepp
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Wenig
authors.affiliation: University of Udine School of Medicine, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rinaldo
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University, 401 N. Broadway, Weinberg 2249, Baltimore, MD, 21231, USA.
authors.forename: Alfio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferlito
mesh_terms: D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D009379:Neoplasms, Muscle Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Head and neck malignancies; MyoD1; Myogenin; Rhabdomyoblastic differentiation; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Skeletal muscle differentiation; Soft tissue sarcomas