[A propos a case of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (author's transl)]

This is a case of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with a rare clinical evolution. A first metastasis causes paraplegia; a second causes obstructive jaundice; a third subcutaneous metastasis is resected; the primitive tumor is discovered accidentally in the right calf, 8 weeks after the beginning of the disease. The literature is reviewed. Diagnosis of the alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is often difficult because of confusion with a lymphoma, another type of sarcoma, a melanoma or even an epithelial tumor. The surgeon who removes a superficial node, obviously malignant, in a young subject, should think of this type of tumor. A multidisciplinary treatment associating radical resection, radio- and chemotherapy improves the very poor prognosis of this sarcoma.