Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, a childhood neoplasm arising from neural crest cells, is characterized by a diversity of clinical behavior, ranging from spontaneous remission to rapid tumor progression and death. To some extent, outcome can be predicted by the stage of disease and age at diagnosis. The molecular events responsible for the variability in response to treatment and rate of tumor growth, however, remain largely unknown. Over the past decade, transformation-linked genetic changes have been identified in neuroblastoma tumors that have contributed to our understanding of tumor predisposition, metastasis, treatment responsiveness, and prognosis. This review discusses the recent advances in the understanding of neuroblastoma at the cellular and molecular levels, and the role that tumor biology plays in determining appropriate risk-based treatment for patients with neuroblastoma.