Juvenile parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma in a dog causing unilateral denervation atrophy of masticatory muscles

A 23-month-old, male, Labrador retriever dog with a history of slowly progressive right-sided atrophy of the masticatory muscles was submitted for necropsy. A highly invasive neoplasm which destroyed adjacent soft tissues including the right trigeminal nerve was found in the right side of the cranial cavity. Metastases to the liver were also present. Microscopical features of the neoplasm were compatible with those of rhabdomyosarcoma, embryonal type. This diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical demonstration of desmin and muscle actin within tumour cells. In human patients, rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood and adolescence. Parameningeal rhabdomyosarcomas are well-known topographic variants that are often non-amenable to complete surgical resection and therefore carry a more guarded prognosis. Juvenile parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma resulting in denervation atrophy of the muscles of mastication has not been reported previously in dogs. Rhabdomyosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of neoplastic conditions in the head and neck region of juvenile dogs presented with cranial nerve palsies or other neurological deficits suggestive of meningeal or central nervous system invasion.