Delayed development of a rhabdomyosarcoma following radiation for a spinal cord glioma

Radiation-induced sarcomas represent a rare delayed-late secondary complication of radiation therapy. Radiation-associated sarcomas are associated with a worse overall prognosis compared to sporadic sarcomas irrespective of histological type. Herein we report a case of a 65-year old man who underwent surgery and radiation therapy for a T4 spinal cord low-grade two astrocytoma in 1965 and presented over 40 years later with spinal cord complex intramedullary tumor involving the thoracic cord with drop metastases in the lumbar spine. Histology from a partial resection of the thoracic spinal tumor revealed a high-grade rhabdomyosarcoma. In addition to the rarity of radiation-induced sarcoma arising following the treatment of a spinal cord glioma, this case study represents one of the first reports of a spinal cord rhabdomyosarcoma arising in this setting.