Oncology: Neuroblastoma

Abstract

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid extracranial tumor of childhood. It originates from the cell of the neural crest intended to form sympathetic nervous system. It accounts for 7 % of all childhood cancers and for approximately 15 % of cancer deaths in children. A neuroblastoma arises most frequently from the adrenal gland, but it could originate along the ganglia of sympathetic nervous system. Most frequently, the neuroblastoma arises from the adrenal gland (65 %). Other common sites are the ganglia in the retroperitoneum followed by the ganglia localized in the chest, neck, and pelvis. The median age at diagnosis is 17 months, but it can occur in children from the prenatal age to young adult age. Around 50 % of patients present with disseminated disease at the time of diagnosis. Dissemination occurs through lymphatic and hematogenous routes, with the involvement of bone, bone marrow, and liver.