Testis Involvement in Neuroblastoma: Report of 3 Cases in the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group-Neuroblastoma Study and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. Primary and secondary testicular involvement is extremely uncommon in neuroblastoma.

PROCEDURE: All children with neuroblastoma treated with the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG)-Neuroblastoma (NB) Study and who had testis involvement either at diagnosis or at relapse were retrospectively evaluated. A review of all cases with neuroblastoma and testis involvement in the literature was done.

RESULTS: There were 3 children with NB documented to have involvement of the testis, 2 at diagnosis, 1 at recurrence, within the 559 cases (0.5%) treated with the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG)-Neuroblastoma Protocol. All had advanced stage. Two were infants. A total of 57 cases of testicular or paratesticular neuroblastoma have been reported in children, and most cases represent metastases as in the 3 cases in our series.

CONCLUSIONS: Neuroblastoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of testicular mass and work-up for neuroblastoma should be done before orchiectomy. Scrotal ultrasonography should be used as the first diagnostic tool and abdominal ultrasonography shall be done additionally. Testis examination should be performed at diagnosis and regularly during follow-up for boys diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Testes may be sanctuary sites when neuroblastoma is metastatic, as is the case in leukemia.