pediatrics
Neuroblastoma
Symptoms and Signs of Neuroblastoma
Symptoms and signs of neuroblastoma depend on the site of the primary cancer and pattern of disease spread. The most common symptoms are abdominal pain, discomfort, irritability, decreased appetite, and a sense of fullness due to an abdominal mass. Certain symptoms may result from metastases. These include bone pain due to widespread bone metastases, periorbital ecchymosis and proptosis due to retrobulbar metastasis, and abdominal distention and respiratory problems due to liver metastases, especially in infants. Children with anemia may have pallor, and those with thrombocytopenia may have petechiae. Children occasionally present with focal neurologic deficits or paralysis due to direct extension of the cancer into the spinal canal. Tumors in the neck or upper chest may cause Horner Syndrome (ptosis, miosis, anhidrosis). They may also present with Rare diseases that are associated with neural crest tumors (eg, neuroblastoma, ganglioneuroblastoma, ganglioneuroma) include ROHHADNET (rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation, and neuroendocrine tumors) and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. 