A case of submandibular malignant rhabdoid tumor transformed from papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) in the neck region is very rare. We report a case of MRT in a 60-year-old woman who had a history of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland 7 years previously. One year before admission, in 1995, thyroid carcinoma recurred, and the tumor contained a small undifferentiated region with rhabdoid features. The tumor in 1996 consisted of round to oval rhabdoid cells with abundant cytoplasm, and the growth pattern was diffuse and infiltrative, with no papillary structures. We therefore concluded that the lesion was MRT, transformed from papillary thyroid carcinoma.