Due to the great clinical and social significance of neuroblastomas in childhood, this work aims to present a succint and comprehensive review of the diagnostic imaging features of this condition, as well as its up-to-date staging and risk stratification systems. The text is supplemented by images from a retrospective overview of 39 cases of neuroblastoma spanning up to 16 years back from the date of submission. The primary imaging diagnostic modalities for neurofibroma include ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine....

Neuroblastoma (NBL) was originally described by Virchow in 1863. [10] It is the most common embryonal tumor and the third most frequent malignant tumor in children (after leukaemia and brain malignancies). [1, 2, 10] NBL is the most frequent extracranial tumor before 18 years of age as it makes up 8-10% of pediatric neoplasms. It accounts for about 15% of childhood cancer deaths. [2] It stems from the primitive cells of the sympathetic nervous system and of the adrenal medulla. [1, 3, 5, 6, 8]...

IMAGING METHODS I. RADIOGRAPHY Possibly the most widely spread method of diagnostic imaging. Unfortunately, it yields the smallest amount of information regarding the initial tumor. Neuroblastoma (NBL) has a very unspecific appearance – an intrathoracic / intraabdominal mass of soft tissue attenuation. Intrathoracic lesions are usually paraspinal, with a sharp pleural-pulmonary interface; they are often oriented along the vertical axis of the body – following the sympathetic chain. [8] Adjacent bones (ribs, vertebrae) may be eroded/remodelled by pressure from the lesion; potential widening of neural...

Neuroblastoma's clinical significance is substantial, and its manifestations varied. Therefore, it is paramount to maintain a high degree of awareness of uptodate diagnostic and staging guidelines. NBL requires multimodality imaging, with MRI and MIBG bearing the highest significance in regard to current guidelines: MRI + contrast for evaluating neural foraminal extension and bone marrow metastases, whole MIBG for determining disease extent.

1. Kalev D., Yonkov A., Stoyanova A., Balev B., et al., Bulgarian Guidelines for Neuroblastoma in Children (Bulgarian language publication), Varna, 2015, ISBN 978-619-7094-15-2 2. Radiopaedia.org 3. ACCIS: Automated Childhood Cancer Information System, http://acciss.iarc.fr 4. Adam A., Dixon A., Grainger and Allison’s Diagnostic Radiology - A Textbook of Medical Imaging, 5th Edition, Churchill Livingstone, An Imprint of Elsevier, 2008 5. Brant W., Helms C., Fundamentals of Diagnostic Radiology, 3rd Edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007 6. The Gentle Way - The Art of Pediatric Imaging,...