neuroblastoma /no͝or′ōblastō″mə/ [Gk, neuron + blastos, germ, oma, tumor] , a highly malignant tumor composed of primitive ectodermal cells derived from the neural plate during embryonic life. The tumor may originate in any part of the sympathetic nervous system but is most common in the adrenal medulla. Neuroblastomas metastasize early and widely to lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and bone. Symptoms may include an abdominal mass, respiratory distress, and anemia. Hormonally active adrenal lesions may cause irritability, flushing, sweating, hypertension, and tachycardia. Before metastasis, treatment with radical surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy is often successful. Spontaneous remissions may occur, with the tumor undergoing maturation and forming a benign ganglioneuroma. Kinds include Pepper’s syndrome.
