Adult neuroblastoma-case report and literature review

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid malignant neoplasm in the paediatric age group; accounting for 7% of all childhood malignancies, but neuroblastoma in adult, is a rare occurrence finding mention in aeons in medical literature with an overall incidence of 1 in 10 million adults/year. We report the case of a 24-year-old male patient presenting with the complaints of progressive abdominal distention of 2 months duration. Multiple Detector Computed Tomography (MD-CT) of abdomen revealed a huge enhancing mass in the retroperitoneum abutting the left kidney, and a subsequent CT-guided biopsy and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of ganglioneuroblastoma. The patient was administered 3-cycles of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy with ifosphamide, carboplatin and etoposide (ICE-chemotherapy) and subsequently 3 more cycles of chemotherapy post surgery, followed by radiation. The rarity of this neoplasm in adults accounts for the lack of standardized staging and treatment protocols and the dismal prognosis even with aggressive multimodal treatment. We report this case because of its extreme rarity, and its tendency for capricious behavior.