BACKGROUND: Hemolytic anemia associated with benign pelvic neoplasms is very rare. Sixteen cases have been reported in the English-language literature. CASE: A 27-year-old woman complained of dizziness, fatigue and headache. Physical Examination revealed jaundice and mild tachycardia. Laboratory evaluation indicated intravascular hemolysis, and workups for hematologic and infectious disease etiologies were negative. Multiple blood transfusions and steroids failed. Computed tomography showed a large, complex pelvic mass (10 x 10 x 6 cm). Exploratory laparotomy and excision of bilateral dermoid cysts were performed, and the anemia resolved. The patient was healthy, without recurrence, seven years later. CONCLUSION: It is important to seek to identify pelvic tumors in patients presenting with hemolytic anemia because this condition is often resistant to standard medical therapy and resolves only after removal of the neoplasm. (J Reprod Med 2001;46:401-404).
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a neoplasm of childhood which commonly arises in the genitourinary tract. Reported locations include the bladder, prostate, paratestis, vagina, uterus, cervix, and ovary. Rhabdomyosarcomas have been reported to occur in the fallopian tube only as a component of a malignant mixed müllerian tumor. We present a case of pure embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the fallopian tube in a 17-year-old. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical stains. The strongest evidence for the primary location of this pure embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma was the gross appearance of the tumor at laparotomy. Additionally, rhabdomyosarcomas arising from adjacent organs have never been reported to grow into the fallopian tubes.