1 Nov 2012Case Report
Large mediastinal nodular ganglioneuroblastoma in a child from Africa
Salvatore Guarino 1Carlo Astini 2James Howard 3Vito Colombelli 4
Affiliations
Article Info
1 Department of Surgical Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
2 Hôpital de Balbala, Djibouti City, Djibouti
3 The Royal London Hospital, London, UK
4 Servizio di Anatomia e Istologia patologica, Ospedale Regionale, Bolzano, Italy
Ann. Ital. Chir., 2012, 83(6), 543-546;
Published: 1 Nov 2012
Copyright © 2012 Annali Italiani di Chirurgia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Ganglioneuroblastoma, nodular (GNBn) is a subtype of neuroblastic tumors. This is a rare malignancy typically affecting young children. Few cases are reported in adolescents and adults. The prognosis is related to the surgical excision radicality. Hereby we present a case of a young male patient age 13 from the Horn of Africa presenting with vague symptoms of fatigue and weight loss. Chest X-ray showed a large radiopaque mass occupying the right thorax. The chest Computed Tomograpy confirmed the presence of an 18-cm large mass originating from the posterior mediastinum and invading most of the right hemi-thorax. Surgical excision and histopathology study of the lesion clarified its rare nature: ganglioneuroblastoma nodular with a particular coexistence of a fibrous benign surface encapsulating a necrotic malignant core. In this case of large GNBn in a young adolescent, the surgical resection alone played a curative treatment role.
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Ganglioneuroblastoma nodular
- Radical surgical excision