Remote effects of neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, which is primarily an extracranial disease, has remote manifestations which can be confusing. Neurologic signs and symptoms such as opsoclonus (dancing eyes), ataxia, blindness, and cord paralysis may precede by several months the manifestations of the primary tumor in a distant site such as the abdomen. Descriptions of nine cases demonstrate the various modes of presentation and some of the unusual aspects of this disease. The recent advent of computed tomography requires a reevaluation of the neuroradiologic approach to the evaluation of neuroblastoma.