Primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma with brain metastases in a child: A case report with medico-legal implications

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma that mainly affects children. RMS in childhood commonly occurs in the head and neck, followed by the genitourinary tract. Primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma (PPR) is extremely rare. We report a 31-month-old girl who had PPR with brain metastasis. The girl with wheezing and cough of 3 weeks and vomiting of 1 day was referred to a county hospital. At 9:00 a.m., a chest X-ray showed an abnormal shadow on a chest radiogram. Four hours later, in the process of computed tomography (CT) scan her condition deteriorated dramatically, while resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. CT showed a solid mass in the right middle lung lobe. Subsequent autopsy revealed a large tumour located in the right middle lung lobe. Surprisingly, a mass of haematoma appearance was found in the left occipital lobe. Histological and immunohistochemical investigations of the masses established the diagnosis of PPR with brain metastasis. Herniation of brain, caused by the brain metastasis, was ascertained as the cause of death. The morphological and pathological findings are presented; the difficulty to diagnose PPR and the medico-legal implications are discussed. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.