Abstract:
Objective:To summarize the clinical features and biological behavior of multifocal neuroblastoma and provide evidence for its treatment and prognosis. Methods:Seven cases of multifocal neuroblastoma treated between January 1995and December 2015were retrospectively identified and reviewed. Follow-ups were conducted to monitor the postoperative conditions of the patients. Results:Among the 360 neuroblastoma cases treated at the authors' hospital in the past20 years, 7 were multifocal neuroblastoma cases. The average age of the 7 patients was19.4 ± 11.9 months. Thoracoabdominal neuroblastomas and bilateral adrenal neuroblastomas were present in3 and 4 cases, respectively. Four of the cases were classified as stage4S according to the International Neuroblastoma Staging System. All of the 7 patients were treated successfully with radical surgery, and 14tumor samples were obtained. However, a tumor at the posterior me diastinum was not treated. Twelve of the tumors obtained ( 85 .7%) were classified into the favorable histology group. Moreover,13 tumors (92.9%) had no MYCN amplification. The estimated 3-year overall survival was 100 %. Conclusion: Most multifocal neuroblastoma cases are commonly diagnosed in young patients (mostly classified as4S) and can be easily treated by radical surgery. Multifocal neuroblastomas have been observed to demonstrate favorable histopathology and low MYCN expression. These findings suggest that most multifocal neuroblastoma cases have favorable prognosis; therefore, excessive treatment must be avoided.