N-myc amplification in an infant with stage IVS neuroblastoma

N-myc amplification is most frequently found in neuroblastoma from patients with stage III and IV disease. Recently a significant association between genomic amplification and poor prognosis has been demonstrated. The primary tumors studied from patients with stage IVS disease have reportedly had a single copy of N-myc, and these patients are alive without progressive disease. We report a patient with stage IVS neuroblastoma with N-myc amplification who developed widespread metastasis within 6 months of diagnosis. The same correlation between oncogene copy number and progressive disease that has been seen in those patients with stage II, III, and IV disease was seen in this patient with stage IVS neuroblastoma.