A congenital spindle cell auricular rhabdomyosarcoma in a newborn

Abstract

Rhabdomyosarcomas make up 5% of all pediatric malignant tumors. They are extremely rare in neonates. Furthermore, the external ear as a primary tumor site is very uncommon. In this paper, a neonate with a congenital auricular rhabdomyosarcoma is presented. At birth, a newborn male was noted to have a right posterior auricular mass. He is admitted to a children's hospital where he has diagnostic imaging, undergoes a biopsy, and then surgical resection of the auricular mass. Pathology confirms an infantile spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma. He completes 22 weeks of chemotherapy without incident. At one year of age, there is no evidence of metastasis or recurrence of the auricular tumor. A rare case of a neonate with a congenital auricular rhabdomyosarcoma is presented. The prognosis of congenital auricular rhabdomyosarcomas tends to be favorable.