Primary Pulmonary Rhabdomyosarcoma in Childhood

Primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare lesion, especially in pediatric patients. Of the 22 described patients with primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma, only two were less than 20 years of age.^1-17 In this article, we describe a child with primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma in whom treatment by surgical excision and chemotherapy resulted in five-year disease-free survival.

Report of a Case.—A 21-month-old boy was first examined in April 1975 for evaluation of a cough of six months' duration and right-sided chest pain. There was percussion dullness and decreased breath sounds over the right hemithorax. The liver edge was noted 3 cm below the right costal margin. Chest roentgenograms showed complete opacification of the right-middle and lower lung fields (Fig 1). Treatment with oral penicillin for one week produced no improvement. The results of the following laboratory studies were normal: complete blood cell count, serum electrolytes, renal and liver function tests, and tuberculin