All issues > Volume 46(11); 2003

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2003;46(11):1107-1111. Published online November 15, 2003.

Pathologic Change and Prognosis after Combination Therapy in Advanced Neuroblastoma

Yeon Kyong YK Seo¹, Yu Jin YJ Jung¹, Joon Sik JS Kim¹, Heung Sik HS Kim¹, Woo Hyun WH Park², Soon Ok SO Choi², Byung Yook BY Lee³, Kun Young KY Kwon³

¹Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea
²Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea
³Departement of Pathology, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea

Correspondence Heung Sik HS Kim ,Email: kimhs@dsmc.or.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Neuroblastoma is a malignant neoplasm which arises from primitive sympathetic neuroblasts, and occasionally can matured from a malignant neuroblastoma into a benign ganglioneuroma. It has the highest rate of spontaneous regression of any pediatric tumor. We performed a retrospective study of pathologic features after combination therapy in advanced neuroblastoma. Prognostic effects of the individual morphologic feature and prognostic groupings according to modified Shimada classification systems were analyzed.
Methods
: The treatment results for six patients with neuroblastoma seen at Keimyung University from Jan. 1991 to June 2000 were analyzed. Patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, and classified by two major prognostic criteria based on morphological features of neuroblastoma, such as modified Shimada classification and histologic grading.
Results
: Three cases were classified to a good histologic group; among them, two cases survived, but one case was lost in follow-up. There were three cases classified in a poor histologic group. All of these patients expired due to sepsis and hemorrhagic pancreatitis.
Conclusion
: Prognostic classification due to pathologic findings had significant value in evaluating the survival rate of neuroblastoma patients.

Keywords :Neuroblastoma, Pathologic change, Prognosis