retroperitoneal anaplastic neuroblastoma in a 3-year-old female: a rare case report

neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. in different classification of neuroblastomas, a subset of undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumors with bizarre histological features has been mentioned. a 3-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain. her haematological and biochemical parameters were normal except her urinary vanelylmandelic acid level was elevated five times the normal value (64.4 iu/ml). on computed tomographyscan, a retroperitoneal contrast-enhancing mass was visible around d12-d13 region (60×52×47mm). sections of ct guided trucut biopsy revealed large cells with pleomorphic nuclei, abundant cytoplasm and occasional multinucleated giant cells. immunohistochemistry showed the cells reactive for neuron specific enolase, chromogranin-a, synaptophysin, non-reactive for cytokeratin, desmin and glial fibrillary acid protein and alk-1. a diagnosis of anaplastic neuroblastoma was made. the child is currently under chemotherapy and doing well.   how to cite this article: roy s, das i, nandi a, de s. retroperitoneal anaplastic neuroblastoma in a 3-year-old female: a rare case report. iran j pathol. 2015;10(3):227-30.