Correlation of CT signs with lymphatic metastasis and pathology of neuroblastoma in children

Radiomics models to predict bone marrow metastasis of neuroblastoma using CT

Background

Bone marrow is the leading site for metastasis from neuroblastoma and affects the prognosis of patients with neuroblastoma. However, the accurate diagnosis of bone marrow metastasis is limited by the high spatial and temporal heterogeneity of neuroblastoma. Radiomics analysis has been applied in various cancers to build accurate diagnostic models but has not yet been applied to bone marrow metastasis of neuroblastoma.

Methods

We retrospectively collected information from 187 patients pathologically diagnosed with neuroblastoma and divided them into training and validation sets in a ratio of 7:3. A total of 2632 radiomics features were retrieved from venous and arterial phases of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), and nine machine learning approaches were used to build radiomics models, including multilayer perceptron (MLP), extreme gradient boosting, and random forest. We also constructed radiomics-clinical models that combined radiomics features with clinical predictors such as age, gender, ascites, and lymph gland metastasis. The performance of the models was evaluated with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and risk decile plots.

Results

The MLP radiomics model yielded an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.95-0.99) on the training set and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82-0.95) on the validation set. The radiomics-clinical model using an MLP yielded an AUC of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89-0.96) on the training set and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85-0.97) on the validation set.

Conclusions

MLP-based radiomics and radiomics-clinical models can precisely predict bone marrow metastasis in patients with neuroblastoma.

Primary orbital ganglioneuroblastoma: A case report

Background

Ganglioneuroblastoma (GNB) is a neoplasm that arises from the primitive cells of the sympathetic nervous system during childhood. The current case is very unique because of the initial primary tumor manifestation in the orbit and an adrenal tumor being observed later during follow-up.

Case presentation

A 2-year-old girl presented to the Ophthalmology Department of our hospital complaining of swelling of the left upper eyelid for approximately one month. Orbital computed tomography (CT) revealed a left orbital mass with bone destruction. Thoracic and abdominal CT indicated no abnormalities. The mass was surgically resected, and histopathological analysis confirmed it as GNB. During follow-up, abdominal CT detected an adrenal tumor with internal calcification, a calcified nodule on the left side of the abdominal aorta, and mesenteric lymph nodes. Accordingly, primary orbital GNB and metastatic adrenal GNB were the possible considerations. We removed the adrenal tumor, and the patient underwent chemotherapy. However, the patient died 18 months after the ophthalmic surgery.

Conclusion

Primary orbital GNB in children is easily misdiagnosed because of its rare occurrence and atypical clinical findings. Imaging methods combined with histopathological examination contribute to the detection and diagnosis of primary and metastatic GNBs. Thus, timely surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy and long-term follow-up is essential for controlling the metastasis of GNB and improving the survival rate of patients.

Intracranial Metastases Tend to Be Overt and Predict Poor Prognosis in Children With Neuroblastoma

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common pediatric extracranial solid neoplasm after leukemia. Intracranial metastases (IM) rarely occur in patients with NB. The present study aimed to review the clinical characteristics of NB patients from a single center presenting with IM. Methods: Two hundred children (aged 3-91 months) with NB admitted to the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University between January 2009 and December 2015 were enrolled, and their clinical characteristics were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of IM. Their clinical characteristics, including demographics, clinical features, and laboratory and imaging studies, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: IM occurred in 22 of 200 (11%) neuroblastoma patients, with a median age of 42.5 months (range, 3-91 months), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.4:1. Seven patients had IM at the initial diagnosis. Among the 15 children who did not have IM at initial presentation, the median interval from presentation to the diagnosis of IM was 17.3 months (range, 1-55 months). Compared with the control group, NB patients with IM tended to be asymptomatic at the time of NB diagnosis, which was made incidentally during routine physical examination (5 of 22, 22.7%, p < 0.05). In addition, this group had more primary intra-abdominal sites (18 of 22, 81.8%, p < 0.001) and worse prognosis (5 of 22, 22.7%, p < 0.05). Conclusions: NB patients with IM have insidious onset in the early stage and a lower survival rate, especially patients with primary intra-abdominal lesions. Regular neurological monitoring could improve the rate of early diagnosis and prognosis of NB children with IM. Familiarity with the characteristic findings of NB with IM is necessary to avoid misdiagnosis and initiate necessary interventions.

Short-term efficacy and safety of MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery for analgesia in children with metastatic bone tumors

Short-term efficacy and safety of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) for analgesia in children with metastatic bone tumors were studied. Thirty children with pediatric bone metastases admitted to Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital from March 2015 to March 2018 and who received MRgFUS treatment of the bone metastasis lesions were collected. The postoperative efficacy was assessed. The observation indicators included the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) scores before surgery, and 1 week, 1, 2, and 3 months after surgery and the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scores before surgery, and 1 week and 3 months after surgery. The adverse reactions and medications of the children after the surgery were also under observation. NRS and VAS scores of all different observation time-points after surgery were statistically lower than those before surgery (P<0.05), and the NRS scores and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores 3 months after surgery were lower than those 1 week after surgery (P<0.05). Compared with the preoperative conditions, the QLQ-C30 scores of terms like physical function, cognitive function, nausea and vomiting, and degree of pain 1 week, 1, 2, and 3 months after surgery were decreased, and the clinical symptoms of the children were relieved (P<0.05). There was a statistical difference between the total QLQ-C30 scores 3 months after operation and the total QLQ-C30 scores 3 months before operation (P<0.05). No serious adverse reactions related to treatment were reported, and the application of analgesics was reduced. MRgFUS relieves bone metastasis pain in children with good curative effect and high safety.