Malignant rhabdoid tumour was first described as a variant of Wilms' tumour of the kidney in 1978.

The histologic diagnosis of malignant rhabdoid tumour depends on identification of characteristic rhabdoid cells-large cells with eccentrically located nuclei and abundant, eosinophilic cytoplasm.

Malignant rhabdoid tumour (MRT) is a very aggressive form of tumour originally described as a variant of Wilms' tumour, which is primarily a kidney tumour that occurs mainly in children.