Clinical analysis of neuroblastoma in 36 children

Objective To explore the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of neuroblastoma in children. Methods The clinical data of 36 children with neuroblastoma admitted to Department of Pediatric Surgery, Henan Provincial People′s Hospital between August 2013 and August 2018, were retrospectively analyzed. The patients included 22 males and 14 females with the age of 1 month-13 years old [( 20.0±18.5) months]. Twenty-one cases of neuroblastoma originated from the adrenal glands, the other 15 cases from the sympathetic ganglion(including 7 cases in retroperitoneum, 6 cases in postmediastinum, and 2 cases in neck). Fifteen patients in low risk and intermediate risk groups underwent primary surgery before multiple chemotherapy, while other 21 cases in high risk groups underwent chemotherapy until the mass could be removed completely, then continuely underwent multiple chemotherapy. Results Of the 36 patients, 23 cases(63.9%) had a radical resection, 13 patients underwent palliative resection and 2 patients were treated with vascular repair during surgery (abdominal aorta in 1 patient, inferior vena cava in 1 patient). Twenty-seven patients had effective in formation and 16 patients survived, during follow-up, 12 patients belonged to stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ disease, 2 patients stage Ⅳ disease and 2 patients stage Ⅳs disease, respectively.Four cases underwent re-operation due to disease recurrence, then they underwent chemothearopy, and 3 patients were survival with tumor. Conclusions Neuroblastoma is a highly malignant pediatric cancer accompanied with a high rate of metastasis on initial diagnosis.Radical resection is an effective therapeutic strategy for improving the survival rate. If radical resection is impractical, palliative resection combined with chemotherapy can significantly prolong patients′ survival time.And a better prognosis is achieved if it can be early diagnosed and treated timely. Key words: Neuroblastoma; Diagnosis; Surgical operation; Retrospective study