Cutaneous Epithelioid/Pleomorphic Rhabdomyosarcoma, Melanoma in Disguise? An Immunohistochemical, Molecular and Epigenetic Study of 13 Patients | Synapse
March 7, 2026Open Access
Cutaneous Epithelioid/Pleomorphic Rhabdomyosarcoma, Melanoma in Disguise? An Immunohistochemical, Molecular and Epigenetic Study of 13 Patients
Key Points
To investigate the clinical, genetic, and epigenetic characteristics of cutaneous epithelioid/pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma.
Conducted immunohistochemical analysis on tissue samples from 13 patients
Analyzed genetic and epigenetic profiles
Compared findings to known characteristics of melanoma
Identified similarities in profiles between rhabdomyosarcoma and melanoma
Proposed that a significant number of rhabdomyosarcoma cases may be misclassified as melanoma
Highlighted the need for improved diagnostic criteria to differentiate between the two.
Abstract
The majority of cutaneous epithelioid/pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma show clinical, genetic, and epigenetic profiles similar to melanoma, suggesting that a major subset represents transdifferentiated melanoma.