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Alveolar and poorly differentiated rhabdomyosarcoma
Author(s) -
Seidal T.,
Kindblom L.G.,
Angervall L.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1988.tb00950.x
Subject(s) - rhabdomyosarcoma , immunohistochemistry , pathology , desmin , alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma , enolase , polyclonal antibodies , staining , biology , electron microscope , myoglobin , antigen , medicine , vimentin , immunology , sarcoma , physics , optics , biochemistry
Eighteen poorly differentiated, small and dark cell malignancies afflicting young individuals without light‐microscopic evidence of a rhabdomyoblastic differentiation or a growth pattern characteristic of rhabdomyosarcoma were analyzed and compared with a series of 30 alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas of varying differentiation, where the diagnosis could be established light‐microscopically. The study comprised clinical data, light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry, using a battery of mono‐ and polyclonal antibodies against intermediate filaments, myoglobin, epithelial membrane antigen, neuron‐specific enolase, S‐100 and leucocyte common antigen. All 30 alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas were positive for desmin, while a minority were positive for myoglobin, using monoclonal antibodies. In 8 of the 18 small and dark cell malignancies, support for a rhabdomyoblastic differentiation was obtained by a positive staining for desmin. In only 3 of these 8 cases was there ultrastructural evidence of rhabdomyosarcoma. The results of the investigation indicate that immunohistochemistry is a more useful tool than electron microscopy in the diagnosis of poorly differentiated rhabdomyosarcoma and that the criteria for the diagnosis of poorly differentiated rhabdomyosarcoma may need to be reformulated.