Small round blue cell tumors (SRBCTs) include diverse group of aggressive pediatric oncology that pose significant diagnostic challenges because of their overlapping histological features. These includes neuroblastoma (NB), rhabdomyosarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Ewing's sarcoma and the closely related primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) and the blastemal component of Wilms tumour. The tumours have similar appearance by light microscopy and partial overlap in immunohistochemical (IHC) profiles. Accurate diagnosis of this condition requires a comprehensive evaluation involving clinical presentation, imaging, histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Herein, we report a rare case of a 3-year-old male presenting with right lower limb pain and a retroperitoneal mass with bone marrow involvement. This case highlights the diagnostic complexity of SRBCTs and the importance of a meticulous diagnostic approach in pediatric oncology. Timely diagnosis and intervention are crucial, guided by a high clinical suspicion and characteristic histopathological findings. Advances in treatment modalities offer hope for improved outcomes in this challenging malignancy.

Keywords: Small Round Blue Cell; Neuroblastoma; Childhood Malignancy; Pediatric Oncology

References

1. Irwin MS and Park JR. “Neuroblastoma: paradigm for precision medicine”. Pediatric Clinics of North America 5 (2000): 965-981.
2. Smith V and Foster J. “High-risk neuroblastoma treatment review”. Children (Basel)9 (2018): 114.
3. Kaatsch P. “Epidemiology of childhood cancer”. Cancer Treatment Reviews 3 (2005): 192-202.
4. Modrell V., et al. “Differential diagnosis of small round blue cell tumors: an immunohistochemical approach”. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 3 (2008): 368-380.
5. Olsen RJ., et al. “An update on the differential diagnosis of SRBCTs in children”. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology 6 (2020): 781-798.
6. DuBois SG., et al. “Metastatic sites in stage IV neuroblastoma correlate with age, tumor biology, and survival”. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology 3 (1999): 181-189.
7. Parham DM., et al. “Primary malignancies of bone and soft tissue in children and adolescents”. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 1 (2001): S75-S96.
8. Park JR., et al. “COG high-risk neuroblastoma treatment update”. Journal of Clinical Oncology 22 (2021): 2471-2482.
9. Matthay KK., et al. “Treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma with intensive therapy and 13-cis-retinoic acid”. The New England Journal of Medicine 16 (1999): 1165-1173.
10. Yu AL., et al. “Anti-GD2 antibody with cytokines for neuroblastoma”. The New England Journal of Medicine 14 (2010): 1324-1334.
11. Heczey A., et al. “CAR T cells for high-risk neuroblastoma: state of the art”. Frontiers in Immunology 13 (2022): 876601.
12. Mosse YP., et al. “Targeting ALK-mutated neuroblastoma with lorlatinib”. Journal of Clinical Oncology 15 (2019): 10009.

Citation

Citation: Ankita Sharma. “Case Report: “Small Round Blue Cells in Pediatric Oncology”: A Great Mimicker!”.Acta Scientific Cancer Biology 9.2 (2025): 03-06.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Ankita Sharma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.