Rhabdomyosarcoma, presenting as a facial swelling in a child. A case report and review of the literature

Sarcoma of the head and neck at Kenyatta National Hospital

“…These neoplasms have a relative predilection of the head and neck region (8). RMS may be defined as a malignant tumour of the rhabdomyoblasts and it is estimated to comprise 12% to 56% of all solid malignant tumours in the paediatric age group (9).…”

Prolonged facial edema is an indicator of poor prognosis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

“…Clinical history and physical examination are essential in the evaluation of facial edema. In cancer patients, facial edema is also a common presentation in patients with different types of cancers such as sarcoma [12], adenocarcinoma [13], and lymphoma [14]. The causative factors of cancer-related facial edema include superior venous cava syndrome [15], internal jugular vein thrombosis [7,8], and neck infection [9,10].…”

“…The causes of facial edema include trauma [4], allergic reaction [5,6], venous thrombosis [7,8], infection [9,10], and benign [11] or malignant conditions [12][13][14]. Clinical history and physical examination are essential in the evaluation of facial edema.…”

Application of PCR amplification of DNA from paraffin embedded tissue sections to linkage analysis in familial retinoblastoma.

“…The tumour regressed but six months later a rhabdomyosarcoma arose in the right cheek and eventually caused the patient's death. 27 Although a rare subtype of this tumour, this second malignancy was part of the group frequently seen in Rb gene carriers.3 4 The second child, a boy, was born in 1987 and the family was referred to us for genetic screening. The mother was shown to be heterozygous using the Ml.8 and PRO.6 DNA probes described by Wiggs et al 15 no evidence of Rb at the time of referral but, although the peak age for hereditary tumours is 10 to 14 months, he is still at risk for developing a tumour.…”