Congenital mediastinal dumbbell neuroblastoma with spontaneous regression of liver metastases

We report a patient with a congenital mediastinal dumbbell neuroblastoma (N B) presenting as respiratory distress at birth rather than a neurologic def icit. The tumor did not respond to low-dose chemotherapy, but radiotherapy and surgery were effective. The patient was observed postoperatively withou t further therapeutic intervention considering the favorable biologic facto rs despite the appearance of liver metastases, which ultimately regressed s pontaneously. The authors believe that most congenital NBs have favorable o utcomes with a possibility of spontaneous regression, and that an understan ding of the biologic features of tumors is important to avoid overtreatment of lesions with a favorable prognosis.