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Current Management of Neuroblastoma

The University College London Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom

Correspondence: Mark N. Gaze, M.D., F.R.C.P., Ed., F.R.C.R., The Meyerstein Institute of Oncology, The Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer Street, London, W1N 8AA, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44-171-636-8333, ext. 4348; Fax: +44-171-436-0160.

Neuroblastoma is one of the more common pediatric cancers. Although there have undoubtedly been major advances in therapy over recent decades, there is still room for significant improvements in outcome to be made. Neuroblastoma is a disease with a variable outlook, encompassing a spectrum—from patients with disease which may undergo spontaneous regression, through those who may be cured with limited treatment, to others whose disease is refractory even to the most aggressive management strategies. Great progress has been made toward understanding the basic biology of the disease, which allows reliable allocation of individual patients to good, intermediate, or poor prognostic groups and aids selection of appropriate therapeutic approaches. Unfortunately, attempts to improve the outcome of patients with adverse prognostic factors have been less effective.

This paper reviews the clinical and biological features of neuroblastoma which determine outcome, and outlines current management policies. Some experimental approaches involving translational research which seek to exploit the unique biology of neuroblastoma are discussed. Although currently unproven, such new treatments are undergoing clinical evaluation and may yet offer new hope for patients with this enigmatic disease.

Key Words. Bone marrow transplantation • Chemotherapy • Neuroblastoma • Prognostic factors • Radiation therapy • Targeted radionuclide therapy

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