Abstract
In patients of neuroblastoma, which occurs along the sympathetic nervous system, metastasis are so common that more than half of them have metastatic foci at diagnosis. The 10 cases of neuroblastoma, histopathologically confirmed and treated at Korea Cancer Center Hospital, were reviewed to search for the skeletal metastasis. Skeletal metastases were found in 8 patiens and 3 of them were proven histopathologically. There were 7 males and 1 female. The average age of onset was 2 years and 9 months (range from 1 year and 3 months to 5 years and 5 months). The most common chief complaint at onset was symptoms from bone metastasis (6 patiens). Most of the patients showed multiple lesions (average;8lesions). The distribution of lesions was as follows:proximal femur (8); distal femur (8); pelvis (8); proximal tibia (7); proximal humerus (7); orbit (5); skull (4) etc. Metastatic pictures were so variable that many kinds of radiographic findings be noted, even in the same patient. Metaphyseal lesions of long bones showed moth-eaten apperance most frequently, but periosteal reaction and sunburst appearance were also seen. Skull lesion was mainly osteolytic punched-out lesions. The lesions of flat bone such as scapula or pelvis were mainly moth-eaten appearance. Seven lesions in 3 patients which showed no bony abnormality in simple roentgenography revealed hot spots in the bone scan.