Neuroblastoma in adults. Pathologic findings and clinical outcome.

Neuroblastoma in adults is uncommon. Previous reports have suggested that adult patients with neuroblastoma have a better prognosis than children with these tumors. We have examined the clinical features of eight adults with neuroblastoma and related these data to tumor histopathology and immunohistochemistry using an antibody to neuron-specific enolase. The results show that when children and adults with neuroblastoma are compared by stage, adults do not have a better prognosis. Adults tend to have a different anatomic distribution of primary tumor sites, with more frequent extra-abdominal sites than are seen in children. Neuroblastomas arising in adults are similar to those seen in children by containing neuron-specific enolase, an enzyme associated with cells of neuroectodermal origin. These findings show that adult neuroblastomas are similar to their childhood counterparts in clinical behavior and pathologic features.