title: Paravertebral Burkitt's Lymphoma in a Child: An Unusual Presentation.
abstract: Paravertebral malignant tumors constitute 4.8% of cancer cases in pediatric oncology and are mostly composed of neuroblastoma (46.4%) and soft tissue sarcomas (35.7%). We describe the case of a Caucasian 6-year-old boy who was admitted for middle back pain radiated to limbs and progressively increasing weakness of the legs, suggesting a spinal cord disease. The exploration revealed two paravertebral masses extending through the neural foraminae into the epidural space. The association with elevated serum neuron specific enolase suggested at first the diagnosis of neuroblastoma, but the pathological examination revealed a Burkitt's lymphoma. This is a rare location of sporadic Burkitt's lymphoma with neurologic syndrome as first symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, CHR Citadelle, Boulevard 12ème de ligne, 4000 Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoyoux
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Forget
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piette
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Dresse
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Florkin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rausin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thiry