CT features of retroperitoneal heuroblastoma in children

Objective: To analyze the CT characteristics of children with retroperitoneal neuroblastoma and to evaluate the diagnostic value of spiral CT. Methods: The CT images of 49 children with retroperitoneal neuroblastoma which were confirmed by surgery or biopsy and pathology were analyzed retrospectively. Results: All the retroperitoneal neuroblastomas were primary lesions, 27 cases in the adrenal gland and 22 cases on abdominal pelvic sympathetic chain. CT showed 1 case with 2 lesions, the remaining cases had single lesion. The tumors were mostly single large mass with inhomogeneous density, shape was irregular, necrosis was common, and calcification was identified in 33 cases. Vague boundary was noticed in thirty-four cases, and sharp demarcation in fifteen cases. On enhanced CT images, most of the lesions showed mild or moderate enhancement. Eight cases had retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, 3 cases present cervical lymph node metastasis. The tumors commonly invaded nearby tissue and organs, metastasis was common, and long distant metastasis was present in some cases. Conclusion: Spiral CT not only provides the information of retroperitoneal neuroblastoma's location, size, shape, density, and the surrounding invasion, long distance metastasis, and early lymph node metastasis. CT plays an important role in diagnosis, differential diagnosis, planning treatment, and predicting prognosis. (authors)