DEVELOPMENT OF GANGLIONEUROMA FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT FOR ORBITAL RHABDOMYOSARCOMA

A female infant presented with a left orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarco ma at the age of 3 months. She was successfully treated for this tumou r with chemo-and radiotherapy. Eight years later she developed a gangl ioneuroma in the same area which was treated surgically, but recurred at the age of 19. Re-examination of all of the specimens using immunoh istochemistry confirmed that the initial and successive diagnoses had been correct. Two further explanations for this rare sequence of event s are considered: whether the initial biopsy had been unrepresentative of the whole tumour, or whether there had indeed been two separate tu mours arising in the same area. The theories of this previously undocu mented occurrence are discussed further.