Summary
Three cases of rhabdoid tumour of the central nervous system arising in a supratentorial location are reported. The patients were 18, 14, and 7 years old. All three tumours showed a common morphology. The neoplastic cells were usually globoid with round nuclei and prominent nucleoli and large acidophilic, cytoplasmic inclusions were present in many of them. These inclusions showed strong immunoreactivity for vimentin, weak immunoreactivity for epithelial membrane antigen and focal immunoreactivity for cytokeratins. Ultrastructurally they were made up of whorls of intermediate filaments, 8–10 nm in thickness. Rhabdoid tumours of the central nervous system, whatever the cell of origin, appear to be an independent entity with identifiable histology and aggressive behaviour.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balaton AJ, Vaury P, Videgrain M (1987) Paravertebral malignant rhabdoid tumor in an adult. A case report with immunocytochemical study. Pathol Res Pract 182:713–716
Beckwith JB, Palmer NF (1978) Histopathology and prognosis of Wilms' tumour. Cancer 41:1937–1948
Biegel JA, Rorke LB, Packer RJ, Emanuel BS (1990) Monosomy 22 in rhabdoid or atypical tumors of the brain. J Neurosurg 73:710–714
Biggs PJ, Garen PD, Powers JM, Garvin AJ (1987) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the central nervous system. Hum Pathol 18:322–337
Briner J, Bannwart F, Kleihues P, Odermatt B, Janzer R, Willi U, Boltshauser E (1985) Malignant small cell tumor of the brain with intermediate filaments — a case of a primary cerebral rhabdoid tumor (abstract). Pediatr Pathol 3:117–118
Cattani MG, Viale G, Santini D, Martinelli GN (1992) Malignant rhabdoid tumour of the uterus: an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study. Virchows Arch [A] (in press)
Dervan PA, Cahalane SF, Kneafsey P, Mynes A, McAllister KM (1987) Malignant rhabdoid tumour of soft tissue. An ultrastructural and immunohistological study of a pelvic tumour. Histopathology 11:183–190
Ekfors TO, Aho HJ, Kekomaki M (1985) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the prostatic region. Immunohistological and ultrastructural evidence for epithelial origin. Virchows Arch [A] 406:381–388
Frierson HF, Mills SE, Innes DJ (1985) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the pelvis. Cancer 55:1963–1967
Gonzalez-Crussi F, Goldschmidt RA, Hsueh W, Trujillo YP (1982) Infantile sarcoma with intracytoplasmic filamentous inclusions. Distinctive tumor of possible hystiocytic origin. Cancer 49:2365–2375
Haas JE, Palmer NF, Weinberg AG, Beckwith JB (1981) Ultrastructure of malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney. Hum Pathol 12:646–657
Harris M, Eyden B, Joglekar VM (1987) Rhabdoid tumour of the bladder: histological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study. Histopathology 11:1083–1092
Higa TE, Mancer K, Thorn H, Spicer P, Phillips MJ (1984) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of infancy: an epithelial neoplasm (abstract). Lab Invest 50:4P
Hsu SM, Raine L, Fanger H (1981) Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase techniques. J Histochem Cytochem 29:577–580
Jakate SM, Marsden HB, Ingram L (1988) Primary rhabdoid tumour of the brain. Virchows Arch [A] 412:393–397
Kapur S, Patterson K, Chandra R (1986) Primary rhabdoid tumour of the cerebellum. Pediatr Pathol 5:101
Kent AL, Mahoney DH Jr, Gresik MV, Steuber CP, Fernbach DJ (1987) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the extremity. Cancer 60:1056–1059
Kodet R, William AN Jr, Sachs N, Hamoudi AB, Raney RB, Asmar L, Gehan EA (1991) Rhabdoid tumours of soft tissues: a clinicopathologic study of 26 cases enroled on the intergroup rhabdomyosarcoma study. Hum Pathol 22:674–684
Lemos HB, Hamoudi AB (1978) Malignant thymic tumor in an infant (malignant histiocytoma). Arch Pathol Lab Med 102:84–89
Lynch HT, Shurin SB, Dahms BB, Izant RB Jr, Lynch J, Danes BS (1983) Paravertebral malignant rhabdoid tumor in infancy. In vitro studies of a familial tumor. Cancer 52:290–296
Parham DM, Peiper SC, Robicheaux G, Ribeiro RC, Douglass EC (1988) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the liver. Evidence for epithelial differentiation. Arch Pathol Lab Med 112:61–64
Perrone T, Swanson PE, Twiggs L, Ulbright TM, Dehner LP (1989) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the vulva: is distinction from epithelioid sarcoma possible? Am J Surg Pathol 13:848–858
Small EJ, Gordon GJ, Dahms BB (1985) Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the heart in an infant. Cancer 55:2850–2853
Sotelo-Avila C, Gonzalez-Crussi F, deMello D, Vogler C, Gooch WM III, Gale G, Pena R (1986) Renal and extrarenal rhabdoid tumors in children: a clinicopathologic study of 14 patients. Semin Diagn Pathol 3:151–163
Tsuneyoshi M, Daimaru Y, Hashimoto H, Enjoji M (1986) Malignant soft tissue Neoplasms with the histologic features of renal rhabdoid tumors: an ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study. Hum Pathol 16:1235–1242
Weeks DA, Beckwith JB, Mierau GW, Luckey DW (1989a) Rhabdoid tumor of kidney. A report of 111 cases from the National Wilms' Tumor Study Pathology Center. Am J Surg Pathol 13:439–458
Weeks DA, Beckwith JB, Mierau GW (1989b) Rhabdoid tumor. An entity or a phenotype? Arch Pathol Lab Med 113:113–114
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cossu, A., Massarelli, G., Manetto, V. et al. Rhabdoid tumours of the central nervous system. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 422, 81–85 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01605137
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01605137