| About Neuroblastoma |
Neuroblastoma is a relatively rare cancer of the sympathetic nervous system -- a nerve network
that carries messages from the brain throughout the body. Each year about 600 children in the
United States will develop neuroblastoma. Generally developing in young children, it accounts for
half of all malignancies in infants. These tumors, which take the form of a lump or mass,
commonly begin in one of the adrenal glands, though they can also develop in nerve tissues in the
neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis.
Though the cause of neuroblastoma is unknown, most physicians believe that it is an accidental
cell growth that occurs during normal development of the adrenal glands.
Treatment
Neuroblastomas are highly diverse in behavior. Some will go away without any treatment, and
others can be cured by surgery alone. But half of these tumors spread quickly to the bone and
bone marrow and require one or more of the following treatments: chemotherapy, radiation
therapy, stem cell transplantation, and immunotherapy. The right treatment for each child depends
mainly on the child's age, the tumor's location, and area in which the tumor has spread.
Links to Childhood Cancer information at the National Cancer Institute
Brain cancers
Leukemias
Lymphomas
Rhabdomyosarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas
Bone cancers
Wilms
Retinoblastoma
Neuroblastoma
National Cancer Institute - Childhood Cancers
that carries messages from the brain throughout the body. Each year about 600 children in the
United States will develop neuroblastoma. Generally developing in young children, it accounts for
half of all malignancies in infants. These tumors, which take the form of a lump or mass,
commonly begin in one of the adrenal glands, though they can also develop in nerve tissues in the
neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis.
Though the cause of neuroblastoma is unknown, most physicians believe that it is an accidental
cell growth that occurs during normal development of the adrenal glands.
Treatment
Neuroblastomas are highly diverse in behavior. Some will go away without any treatment, and
others can be cured by surgery alone. But half of these tumors spread quickly to the bone and
bone marrow and require one or more of the following treatments: chemotherapy, radiation
therapy, stem cell transplantation, and immunotherapy. The right treatment for each child depends
mainly on the child's age, the tumor's location, and area in which the tumor has spread.
Links to Childhood Cancer information at the National Cancer Institute
Brain cancers
Leukemias
Lymphomas
Rhabdomyosarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas
Bone cancers
Wilms
Retinoblastoma
Neuroblastoma
National Cancer Institute - Childhood Cancers
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