A wolf in sheep's disguise: rhabdomyosarcoma misdiagnosed as infantile hemangioma.

Background: Rhabdomyosarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors representing the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood. A delay in diagnosis is not uncommon.

Objective: To report a boy with paranasal rhabdomyosarcoma who was misdiagnosed and treated for infantile hemangioma.

Methods And Results: A 2-year-old Saudi boy who presented with a progressively increasing nasal mass for 18 months was misdiagnosed and treated for infantile hemangioma at an outside hospital. Histopathologic examination revealed paranasal rhabdomyosarcoma.

Conclusion: We review some clinical clues that can alert the physician to malignant childhood tumors. We also review management options for childhood rhabdomyosarcoma.