Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is a rare, malignant tumour arising from the embryological neural crest element of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system.

The most common extracranial solid tumour in children; the majority of patients are diagnosed before age 5 years.

Diagnosis can usually be confirmed by urine catecholamines and imaging. Evaluation of tumour tissue (from biopsy of the primary site, upfront resection, or bone marrow) is required for definitive diagnosis and to stratify risk.

Treatment depends primarily on risk classification and varies from observation alone for certain low-risk patients to intense multimodal therapy for high-risk patients.

Prognosis is excellent for patients with low-risk disease and poor for those with high-risk disease. Relapsed or refractory (high-risk) disease is associated with extremely low survival.

Neuroblastoma is a malignant tumour arising from the embryological neural crest element of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system. It most commonly arises from the adrenal gland(s), but can form anywhere that sympathetic nervous tissue is present, including paraspinal sympathetic ganglia in the chest and abdomen.​[1]Brisse HJ, McCarville MB, Granata C, et al. Guidelines for imaging and staging of neuroblastic tumors: consensus report from the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Project. Radiology. 2011 Oct;261(1):243-57. http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.11101352 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21586679?tool=bestpractice.com [2]Sainero-Alcolado L, Sjöberg Bexelius T, Santopolo G, et al. Defining neuroblastoma: from origin to precision medicine. Neuro Oncol. 2024 Dec 5;26(12):2174-92. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11630532 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39101440?tool=bestpractice.com [3]Tsubota S, Kadomatsu K. Origin and initiation mechanisms of neuroblastoma. Cell Tissue Res. 2018 May;372(2):211-21. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29445860?tool=bestpractice.com ​​​

The term neuroblastoma is commonly used to describe a spectrum of neuroblastic tumours including neuroblastomas (the most common type), ganglioneuroblastomas, and ganglioneuromas.