Laryngeal rhabdomyosarcoma: One case report and review of Chinese literature

Background: Laryngeal Rhabdomyosarcoma is an extremely rare malignant condition in adults, as only 17 well-documented cases have been published in the English publication. We report an adult patient with rhabdomyosarcoma of the larynx and review 30 years of Chinese literature on this disease. Case Report: The present case is a 47-year-old man with pleomorphic subtype at histopathology; the patient was treated with total laryngectomy alone without other adjuvant therapy and has survived uneventfully thus far for 34 months. We review and discuss 17 cases of laryngeal rhabdomyosarcomas from 30 years of Chinese literature on the pathology of the tumor, diagnosis of pathology, treatment and outcome. Conclusions: At present, surgical excision with wide margins for the tumor adjuvant by radiotherapy is optimal. An organ-sparing strategy for RA in the larynx should be seriously considered on the basis of entire tumor removal. Total laryngectomy may avoid morbidity originating from radiotherapy, but sacrifices the function of the larynx. Local excision alone or simple radiotherapy should be absolutely avoided.