Skin lesions as the first manifestation of metastatic neuroblastoma in infant - case report

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumour in the paediatric population.It is an embryonal tumour of the autonomic nervous system which arises in tissues of the sympathetic nervous system, typically in the adrenal medulla or paraspinal ganglia, and thus can present as mass lesions in the neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis.The clinical presentation is highly variable.Mainly, the tumour is a mass that causes no symptoms; however, it can range from a primary tumour, a result of local invasion that causes critical illness, to a widely disseminated disease.The case is presented of a 6.5-monthold girl with hard, painless, purple-blue coloured subcutaneous nodules in the right and left subcostal area, which were the first manifestation of disseminated neuroblastoma 4S.The described case indicates that special oncological awareness should be maintained in every paediatric patient with undefined, non-characteristic skin lesions and subcutaneous nodules.