Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix. A case report confirmed by FKHR break-apart rearrangement using a fluorescence in situ hybridization probe on paraffin-embedded tissues.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) is a very rare malignant soft tissue tumor found in the uterine cervix. In fact, to our knowledge, only 3 cases have previously been described in the literature. A 49-year-old premenopausal woman who had a history of vaginal bleeding underwent hysterectomy for multiple uterine nodules. Pathologic examination showed multiple leiomyomas in the uterus and ARMS in the cervix. An FKHR break-apart rearrangement by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe on paraffin-embedded tissues identified specific chromosomal abnormalities. Systemic chemotherapy and pelvic irradiation were also performed. She remains in clinical remission from neoplastic recurrences 14 months after surgery. The literature has been reviewed; the histologic differential diagnosis of this rare lesion has been discussed and FISH has been suggested to be useful in differentiating ARMS from other poorly differentiated round cell tumors.