[Neuroblastoma]

Neuroblastoma is the most common and highly malignant tumor. The 2-year survival rate for NB patients for 1970s was 32% in US and 29% in Japan. But, improvement of prognosis was observed by recent advances in surgery, chemotherapy and numerous other supportive therapies. We introduce the some treatment regimens to patients with neuroblastoma which should be selected by the age and the stage at diagnosis and other prognostic factors such as N-myc amplification, trk overexpression, chromosome anomalies (lp-. double minutes, homogeneous staining region) of neuroblastoma cells and histological pathology. As a general rules, patients under 1 year of age without unfavorable prognostic factors should be treated less intensive regimen, even their tumors are progressive stages. Conversely, patients with progressive stages over 1 year of age without unfavorable factors, it is necessary to treat with intensive protocol. Furthermore, to patients of all age group with unfavorable factors, they are given a very strong intensive treatment through advances in supportive therapies such as the new antiemetics, G-CSF, antibiotics, or IVH etc.. Recent treatment regimens to the patients with neuroblastoma are presented.