Aggressive olfactory neuroblastoma invading the oral cavity: report of a rare case and review of the literature

• Autor(a) principal: Sarmento, Dmitry José de Santana
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Henriques, Águida Cristina Gomes, Carvalho, Cyntia Helena Pereira de, Morais, Maria de Lourdes Silva Arruda de, Costa, Antonio de Lisboa Lopes, Silveira, Ericka Janine Dantas da
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/22996; http://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2011.11.020
• topic: Neuroblastoma; Mouth

Esthesioneuroblastoma, or olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB), is a rare malignant tumor of the olfactory neuroepithelium, which is normally confined to the superior one third of the nasal septum, cribriform plate, and superior turbinates but may extend to the base of the skull and intracranial space. ONB accounts for only 3% of all intranasal tumors, and its etiology remains unclear. The tumor can affect both children and adults, with a bimodal peak incidence between 11 and 20 years and between 51 and 60 years.1 Controversy exists regarding the origin, diagnosis, and management of ONB, mainly because of its rarity and the fact that most institutions treat only a small number of patients with this diagnosis.2; 3 ; 4 Many cases go unrecognized because of difficulties in the diagnosis of this tumor as a result of nonspecific initial symptoms (nasal obstruction, recurrent epistaxis). There are rare reports of ONB arising in the nasopharynx, ethmoid sinus, and maxillary sinus. We report a rare case of a very large ONB in a pediatric patient. The clinical appearance of the tumor and diagnostic procedure are discussed, and cases published in the literature are reviewed.