Imaging features of primary and secondary adult rhabdomyosarcoma

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2012 Dec;199(6):W694-703. doi: 10.2214/AJR.11.8213.

Abstract

Objective: Rhabdomyosarcomas are rare and aggressive soft-tissue sarcomas in adults. The purpose of this article is to describe the imaging features of primary and secondary adult rhabdomyosarcomas utilizing MRI, CT, and (18)F-FDG PET/CT.

Conclusion: MRI is the imaging technique of choice for the evaluation of primary rhabdomyosarcoma involving most body sites (extremity, pelvis, head, and neck), with the added advantages of diffusion-weighted imaging and whole-body MRI for staging. CT and FDG PET/CT play major roles in the evaluation of metastatic disease. Because the imaging features of adult rhabdomyosarcoma are nonspecific, other parameters, such as clinical findings, age, site, lymphadenopathy, and metastatic disease, should be combined to narrow the differential diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Contrast Media
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Multimodal Imaging
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / diagnosis*
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / pathology
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / pathology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Contrast Media
  • Radiopharmaceuticals