Small Round Blue Cell Tumor Retinoblastoma vs. Neuroblastoma

Authors

  • Aliena Sohail Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad
  • Lubna Naseem Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad
  • Amna Imtiaz Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad

Keywords:

Small round cell tumor, Neuroblastoma, Retinoblastoma

Abstract

In histopathology, a small blue cell tumor or small round blue cell tumors refer to tumors comprised of “blue”
cell with very scant cytoplasm. As nucleus stains blue and cytoplasm pink, these tumors impart a distinct”blue”
appearance”. These cells at low magnification resemble mature lymphocytes which also posses scant cytoplasm.
However are significantly larger than small lymphocytes and erythrocytes. Leukemia, lymphoma, poorly
differentiated carcinomas like oat cells carcinoma and several other primitive tumors may give this picture on
histology sections. These tumors can be seen in any age group. 1&2 Here we report a four month old female child
with diagnosed primary lesion of neuroblastoma in the right eye (from an outside laboratory) followed by
metastasis to the bone marrow within a period of three months. This was a very rare finding because only 3 cases
had been previously reported of Primary Neuroblastoma in the eye and that too with no metastasis. The
commonest eye tumor in this age group is of course retinoblastoma which can alo spresent congenitally as well as
with metastasis. Immunohistochemistry of both Neuroblastoma and Retinoblastoma give same positivity to the
same markers. Hence it is difficult to differentiate the two.

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Published

2018-11-21

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Section

Original article

How to Cite

1.
Sohail A, Naseem L, Imtiaz A. Small Round Blue Cell Tumor Retinoblastoma vs. Neuroblastoma. Int J Pathol [Internet]. 2018 Nov. 21 [cited 2024 Nov. 22];:126-8. Available from: https://jpathology.com/index.php/OJS/article/view/251