[Clinical aspects and radiotherapy of stage III and IV neuroblastomas]

Contrary to other tumors in children, e.g. leukemia and Wilms tumor the prognosis of which has been considerably improved by the application of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the treatment results of one of the most frequent tumors, namely the neuroblastoma, have not essentially ameliorated during the last few years. The authors present 28 own case records of irradiated patients and describe the clinical symptoms, diagnosis and therapy, especially radiotherapy of the neuroblastoma. A prolongation of the survival time by several months could be achieved in a small group of eight patients treated additionally with an aggressive chemotherapy. The overall long-term prognosis, however, could not be improved hitherto.