Axillary staging should be routine in primary rhabdomyosarcoma of breast: A rare case report and review of literature

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Primary rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) of breast is an uncommon entity and axillary lymph node (ALN) involvement is exceedingly rare. METHODS: Herein, we are reporting a case of RMS of breast with ALN metastasis in an adolescent girl. We searched Pubmed and Cochrane databases with keywords rhabdomyosarcoma and breast. All studies published in English language literature were included. Articles describing metastatic involvement of breast with RMS were excluded. RESULT: The initial search yielded a total of 8468 studies, out of which 03 were found to be duplicate. 8420 studies were excluded based on title and abstract as they did not fulfill inclusion criteria. Full text of the remaining 48 studies was screened. After full text screening, 26 case reports describing primary breast RMS were included. Overall 21% patients had axillary lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: Axillary staging should be considered in every patient undergoing surgery for breast RMS. However, it’s impact on recurrence and survival could not be determined based on current review.