Rare Malignant Tumors of the Neck in Children

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Inês Santiago
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Noruegas, Maria José, Coelho, Paulo, Catarino, Rui, Heitor, Fátima, Sanches, Maria Conceição
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25748/arp.10625
• topic: Artigos Revisão

Neck masses are common findings in pediatric patients, and are benign in the majority of cases. In addition to the more common tumors (lymphoma, rhabdomyosarcoma), rare tumors are also encountered in the pediatric head and neck. The imaging and clinical findings usually are nonspecific in these tumors, but some of these clinical and imaging characteristics may aid in narrowing the differential diagnosis. Imaging studies are important in determining the location of the tumor, its relation to adjacent structures, and for staging and follow-up. Ultrasound is the first imaging study performed in pediatric patients, but Magnetic Resonance Imaging is the method of choice, because of its excellent soft-tissue contrast and lack of ionizing radiation. The aim of this article is to review some malignant tumors that are rare in the neck of children, namely synovial sarcoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, rhabdoid tumor, myoepithelial carcinoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Special emphasis is given to the imaging findings of each of these tumors.