J Korean Pediatr Soc.  2003 Nov;46(11):1107-1111.

Pathologic Change and Prognosis after Combination Therapy in Advanced Neuroblastoma

• Seo YK
• Jung YJ
• Kim JS
• Kim HS
• Park WH
• Choi SO
• Lee BY
• Kwon KY

Abstract

PURPOSE
Neuroblastoma is a malignant neoplasm which arises from primitive sympathetic neuroblasts, and occasionally can matured from a malignant neuroblastoma into a benign ganglioneuroma. It has the highest rate of spontaneous regression of any pediatric tumor. We performed a retrospective study of pathologic features after combination therapy in advanced neuroblastoma. Prognostic effects of the individual morphologic feature and prognostic groupings according to modified Shimada classification systems were analyzed.
METHODS
The treatment results for six patients with neuroblastoma seen at Keimyung University from Jan. 1991 to June 2000 were analyzed. Patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, and classified by two major prognostic criteria based on morphological features of neuroblastoma, such as modified Shimada classification and histologic grading.
RESULTS
Three cases were classified to a good histologic group; among them, two cases survived, but one case was lost in follow-up. There were three cases classified in a poor histologic group. All of these patients expired due to sepsis and hemorrhagic pancreatitis.
CONCLUSION
Prognostic classification due to pathologic findings had significant value in evaluating the survival rate of neuroblastoma patients.

Keyword

Neuroblastoma; Pathologic change; Prognosis

MeSH Terms

Classification
Drug Therapy
Follow-Up Studies
Ganglioneuroma
Humans
Neuroblastoma*
Pancreatitis
Prognosis*
Retrospective Studies
Sepsis
Survival Rate