Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy in an African-indigenous patient from the Amazon: a case report

Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a rare condition that occurs normally in the anterior maxilla of infants aged <1 year. The use of clinical and imaging tools for MNTI is extremely important to prevent problems with function as well as the aesthetic features in a breastfeeding child. Brazil is a multiethnic country with a poor epidemiological policy and little data to track the incidence of certain diseases, including MNTI. It is important to study this pathology with ethnicity as a factor to improve the current epidemiological programs and establish better post-treatment management. This paper describes a case of a 2-month-old male of African-indigenous descent and Brazilian Amazon residency, who presented to our unit in 2009 with a history of an expanding mass involving the anterior maxilla. Clinical and computerized tomography scans were used to diagnose the mass as MNTI, which was removed by total excision. A biopsy later confirmed the MNTI diagnosis.