An unusual cause of hoarseness: Rhabdomyosarcoma of the larynx

Laryngeal sarcomas account for <1% of laryngeal malignancies. Laryngeal spindle cell rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) are rare with only a few reports in the literature. Presenting symptoms vary from hoarseness or dysphagia to respiratory failure. Four subdivisions of rhabdomyosarcomas exist including embryonal, alveolar, pleomorphic, and botryoid variant. Worse outcomes have been found in adults versus children. Multimodality therapy remains the mainstay of treatment. Our report describes a case of a 30 year old man with hoarseness discovered to have glottic spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma. He underwent frontolateral partial laryngectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation.