PLEURO-PULMONARY BLASTOMA - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Pleuro-pulmonary blastoma is a rare malignant lung tumor in children a nd distinct from ordinary pulmonary blastoma of adulthood. Combination chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of this tumor, but so far no attempt of high dose chemotherapy with subsequent bone m arrow or blood stem cell transplantation has been published. The case is reported of a 2-year-old boy with pleuro-pulmonary blastoma who ach ieved partial remission with conventional chemotherapy and surgery. Su bsequent administration of high dose melphalan, etoposide, and carbopl atin, followed by autologous blood stem cell transplantation resulted in a 3-month disease-free interval but did not prevent eventual local recurrence, leading to death within a few weeks. Clinical presentation , pathology, management, and prognosis are discussed and the literatur e reviewed. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.