Neuroblastoma in children

Neuroblastoma or Wilms' tumor with nephroblastoma is the most frecevente solid tumors present defects in newborns, even in premature infants found dead.
Solid tumor mass in this pathology consists of neuroblasti neoplastic neural crest cells originating in. Neuroblastul represents an intermediate stage in the development of sympathetic ganglion neurons. Neuroblastoma may originate either in the lymph simpatico or the adrenal medulla.
Neuroblastoma is 10% of cancer cases found in children and is responsible for 15% of cases of cancer death in this age group.Neuroblastoma is malignant tumor with the highest incidence in infants, representing 50% of cancers diagnosed since the first month of life.
The incidence is 8 / 1 million children, the tumor is frequently diagnosed in males in particular, under the age of 15. Average age at diagnosis of neuroblastoma is 2 years.
Genetic implications for the established tumor and prognosis.Caractreisticile provide: Different loss heterozigozitatii short arm (p) of chromosome 1, n-myc amplification or protooncogeneleor considerable multiplication of the numerical oncogenes located on chromosome 1, DNA content of tumor cells hiperdiplodia and defects in growth factor receptor nervous. In cases where notice a considerable multiplication of n-myc oncogenes on chromosome 1, the tumor is very aggressive clinically. Such situations are found in practice to about 25-30% of cases diagnosed with neuroblastoma and is a directly proportional relationship with the advanced stage of tumor, with rapid progression and unfavorable evolution.
In terms of pathogen found in newborns, since the first weeks after birth neuroblasti islands. They exist in the adrenal glands of fetal gestational age 12 weeks. It demonstrates that embryogenesis adrenal medulla and other parts of the sympathetic nervous system does not stop imdeiat postnatally.
Pathology:
When making anatomopathological examination reveals a tumor cell is small, round, with varying degrees of neural differentiation: ganglioneurom, ganglioneuroblastom and neuroblastoma.Histiologice features that help a positive diagnosis are: amount of stroma, the degree of differentiation of tumor cells and the number of cells in mitosis. They help to prognosis.The tumor varies in size from barely visible to the largest abdominal palpable mass. Were round and firm, with irregular surface, lobe.
Tumor mass is generally brittle, showing areas of necrosis, intratumoral hemorrhage and calcification.