Combination chemotherapy with ifosfamide and etoposide is effective in the treatment of central nervous system metastasis of childhood neuroblastoma.

Abstract

Childhood neuroblastoma is a neural crest-derived tumor that presents most commonly during this period of life. In disseminated form, it is resistant to cure by chemotherapy. The tumor tends to recur in diverse locations after an initial clinical response. The parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) is a rare location for metastatic disease and typically represents terminal disease spread. Therefore, effective therapy for CNS metastasis of neuroblastoma has not been reported. The authors describe the case of a child who had a large parenchymal CNS metastasis at the time of initial recurrence of Stage IV neuroblastoma. Chemotherapy with ifosfamide and etoposide resulted in complete resolution of this lesion.