CT findings of skull and intracranial metastatic neuroblastoma

Three cases of neuroblastoma with intracranial metastases were reported. The first case was a 13-year-old girl with sacral neutroblastoma who had metastases to the left parietal bone and dura, and had bilateral intraorbital metastases. The second case was a 13-year-old girl with mediastinal neutroblastoma who had metastases to the dura at the left middle fossa, and had bilateral intraorbital metastases. The third case was a 49-year-old woman with esthesioneuroblastoma which had invaded to the dura at the right middle fossa and the right orbit. CT findings of the brain of these three cases were investigated, and summarized as follows: 1) The intracranial invasions of the metastatic tumors were seen to be slightly high density (EMI-number 25 - 27) in plain scans, and homogeneously dnhanced as a well-defined high density mass (EMI-number 35 - 37). 2) The tumors invading the skull were observed as a mass lesion of the bone on osteolytic lesion. 3) The intraorbital metastatic tumors were weated on the orbital wall invading the rectal muscles, but they remained extraconal. It was emphasized that CT could give valuable information for the diagnosis of skull and intracranial metastasis of neutroblastoma. (author)