Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy. A case report and review

Abstract

A melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy in the maxilla was observed at 1.5 mth of age. The follow up time after surgery was 10 yr. Besides clinical examinations, routine laboratory tests and light and electron microscopy were used. The authors investigated reports in the literature of similar tumors and 19 tumors outside the jaws. Special attention was paid to the site of the tumor in relation to the dental lamina. In the present case, as in the jaw tumor cases reported earlier, all the deciduous teeth were present. Typically, the permanent successor of the deciduous tooth adjacent to the tumor was missing, and the tumor growth was located in its place. The presence of all the deciduous teeth and the absence of the permanent successor adjacent to the tumor suggested a new hypothesis regarding the time of the initiation of the tumor growth. In this case its initiation was calculated to have occurred between the 45th and the 90th day of pregnancy.