A rare case of a pineoblastoma with a rhabdomyoblastic component

Pineal anlage tumor (PAT) is a rare subtype of pineoblastoma (PB), which shows a poor prognosis. We report a case of a 5-year-old boy with PB with a rhabdomyoblastic component. He presented at a local clinic with vomiting and was transferred to our hospital following discovery of a pineal mass. An endoscopic biopsy was performed and was diagnosed as a PB with a rhabdomyoblastic component. Histopathology of PAT is characterized by both neuroectodermal and ectomesenchymal differentiation, and only a few confirmed cases have been reported. Although the histopathological features of the reported case resembled that of PAT, the ectomesenchymal component in the presented case was only a rhabdomyoblastic one. Therefore, we have diagnosed this case as PB with a rhabdomyoblastic component. As PAT is a rare pineal tumor, clinical, histopathological and genetic evaluation of additional cases is needed to define the characteristics of PAT as one of the pineal gland tumors.