Gynecologic Oncology Reports (May 2021)

Two rare presentations of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the cervix in teenagers at a low-resource teaching hospital in Ghana: A case series

  • Sarah G. Bell,
  • Thomas Okpoti Konney,
  • Adu Appiah-Kubi,
  • Augustine Tawiah,
  • Kwabena Amo-Antwi,
  • John Jude Kweku Annan,
  • Emma R. Lawrence,
  • Richard Lieberman,
  • Carolyn Johnston

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 36
p. 100750

Abstract

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We report two cases of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) of the cervix in teenagers presenting to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana within one month of each other. Between October and November 2019, two patients presented with ERMS of the cervix. They both underwent fertility-sparing surgery followed by chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin-D, and cyclophosphamide. Preoperative workup for the two patients was minimal due to limited availability and high cost of imaging in a low-resource setting. Both patients were discussed at a multidisciplinary tumor board meeting to guide best management practices. Both patients had local surgical resection with histological confirmation of ERMS and negative margins, followed by six cycles of vincristine, actinomycin-D, and cyclophosphamide. Neither of the patients had perioperative complications or received radiation therapy. At the time of publication, both patients are currently alive and without evidence of recurrence. Fertility-sparing surgery followed by chemotherapy for patients with ERMS of the cervix is accessible in low-income countries.

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