Metastatic adult neuroblastoma with spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a solid tumor of the sympathetic nervous system, most commonly found in childhood, standing for 7% of all pediatric malignancies. The incidence in adults is markedly smaller: 1 case per 10 million adults per year. We report the case of a previously healthy 27-year-old woman who started with lumbar pain, asthenia, and abdominal distension over the last month. A chest and abdomen tomography scan showed a huge mass in the upper left hemithorax and marked hepatomegaly. The diagnosis was confirmed by hepatic and lung biopsies. On day 4, after admission, the patient started chemotherapy. On the following days, she had severe vaginal bleeding, epistaxis, worsening of the hepatic function markers, refractory shock, and multiple organ dysfunction. She died on the twelfth day of admission. We also present a review of adult cases of NB reported in the past 5 years.

Neuroblastoma in adults:diagnosis and treatment / 中国肿瘤临床

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common malignant solid tumor that occurs during childhood;it has a significant heterogene-ity in clinical symptoms and outcome. NB diagnosis is complicated, and various clinical techniques are often involved in examining im-agery, cellular morphology, immunohistochemical staining, gene and molecule biology, and operation excision scope. Diagnoses are graded based on danger extent, which is indicated by clinical stages and unfavorable prognosis factors. These characteristics are the ba-sis for formulating the corresponding synthetic treatment plan. Limited studies are available on treatment norms for adult cases of NB;such cases are currently diagnosed and treated in accordance with child NB diagnosis and treatment norms. An adult patient diagnosed with NB stage 4 is presented. This patient experienced obvious relief from the symptoms after whole body chemotherapy, with further surgery operation indications. This successful case of multi-disciplinary joint diagnosis and cooperative treatment may provide potential treatment techniques for similar patients.