Localized neuroblastoma treated by surgery: a Pediatric Oncology Group Study

A prospective study was designed to evaluate the outcome of patients with localized resectable neuroblastoma without regional lymph node involvement when no therapy beyond surgical resection was administered. One hundred one patients observed for 3 to 60 months had a 2-year disease-free survival of 89% (SE = 5%). Of the nine patients experiencing relapse, only three have died. There were no apparent distinguishing characteristics of the nine failures. Due to the favorable prognosis of the subset of neuroblastoma patients, prognostic factor analysis had very limited power and lacked clinical importance. Complete gross removal of the localized tumors is adequate therapy to ensure the survival of the majority of these patients.