2016 Volume 53 Issue 5 Pages 487-490
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a malignancy of mesenchymal cells, and it may develop in any part of the body. We report the case of a 2-year-old girl presenting with a groin mass that required differential diagnosis from an irreducible inguinal hernia. She underwent surgery because irreducible inguinal hernia was not ruled out. Intraoperatively, a solid mass was found, suggesting a malignancy. Partial tumor resection was carried out and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma was diagnosed histopathologically. Postoperatively, we employed the protocol recommended by the Japan Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group, which included total tumor resection. The clinical course was uneventful and no recurrence was observed during the 2-year follow up. In cases where a mass mimics an irreducible inguinal hernia and malignancy cannot be excluded, obtaining a histopathological diagnosis by biopsy or partial resection should be taken into consideration.
