Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor of the Brain in a Young Adult With Down Syndrome: Case Report and Literature Review

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) is an aggressive, malignant embryonal tumor with dismal long-term survival despite aggressive multimodal therapy. While this tumor typically presents in infancy or early childhood, there are published case reports of adult-onset ATRT. Making prognostic conclusions or therapeutic decisions for this older patient population remains challenging due to the paucity of these reports. A 25-year-old female with Down syndrome presented with dysphagia and facial droop and was found to have an avidly enhancing, cerebellopontine angle mass. Histology demonstrated sheets of rhabdoid cells with loss of INI1 expression, pathognomonic for ATRT. Further sequencing detected a frameshift SMARCB1 mutation and methylation profiling matched with high confidence to the MYC subclass of ATRT. The patient was treated with subtotal surgical resection and focal proton beam irradiation, followed by chemotherapy on a modified regimen due to concern for heightened risk of treatment-related toxicity. On most recent follow-up 22 months from diagnosis, the patient remains without evidence of disease. This report represents the first known case of ATRT in a young adult patient with Down syndrome, offering unique mechanistic insight into the tumorigenesis of ATRT. Further studies are needed to define an appropriate risk-adapted and standardized therapeutic approach for this patient population.