Clinical Features of Neuroblastoma With 11q Deletion: An Increase in Relapse Probabilities In Localized And 4S Stages

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a heterogeneous tumor with an extremely diverse prognosis according to clinical and genetic factors, such as the presence of an 11q deletion (11q-del). A multicentric study using data from a national neuroblastic tumor database was conducted. This study compared the most important features of NB patients: presence of 11q-del, presence of MYCN amplification (MNA) and remaining cases. A total of 357 patients were followed throughout an 8-year period. 11q-del was found in sixty cases (17%). 11q-del tumors were diagnosed at an older age (median 3.29 years). Overall survival (OS) was lower in 11q-del patients (60% at 5 years), compared to all other cases (76% at 5 years) p = 0.014. Event free survival (EFS) was 35% after 5 years, which is a low number when compared with the remaining cases: 75% after 5 years (p < 0.001). Localized tumors with 11q-del have a higher risk of relapse (HR = 3.312) such as 4 s 11q-del patients (HR 7.581). 11q-del in NB is a dismal prognostic factor. Its presence predicts a bad outcome and increases relapse probability, specially in localized stages and 4 s stages. The presence of 11q aberration should be taken into consideration when stratifying neuroblastoma risk groups.