Cancer Control (Jun 2023)

A Retrospective Analysis of the Therapeutic Outcomes of 117 Neuroblastoma Patients Treated at a Single Pediatric Oncology Center in China

  • Uet Yu MMed (Hons), PhD,
  • Huanli Xu MMed,
  • Senmin Chen MD,
  • Meng Yi MMed,
  • Chao Liu MMed,
  • Xiaoling Zhang MD,
  • Chunjing Wang MMed,
  • Jianming Song MD,
  • Yungen Gan BMed,
  • Jianyao Wang MD,
  • Yuanxiang Wang MMed,
  • Qing Zhang MMed,
  • Junjie Sun MD,
  • Bei Xia BMed,
  • Gongwei Zhang MMed,
  • Changgang Li BMed,
  • Feiqiu Wen MD, PhD,
  • Sixi Liu MD,
  • Xiuli Yuan MD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10732748231187837
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 30

Abstract

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Objective Recent therapeutic advances have greatly enhanced the survival rates of patients with neuroblastoma (NB). However, the outcomes of neuroblastoma patients in China, particularly those with high-risk (HR) NB, remain limited. Method We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data and outcomes of NB patients who were treated at a tertiary pediatric cancer facility in China between January 2013 and October 2021. Results A total of 117 NB patients were recruited. Patients with very low-risk (VLR), low-risk (LR), intermediate-risk (IR), and HR-NB patients made up 4%, 27%, 15%, and 54% of total patient population, respectively. Patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2018 were treated according to the protocol of Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center and those diagnosed between 2019 and 2021 were treated according to the COG ANBL0531 or ANBL0532 protocol with or without autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). The 5-year EFS and OS of all risk groups of patients were 67.29% and 77.90%, respectively. EFS and OS were significantly decreased in patients with higher risk classifications (EFS: VLR/LR vs IR vs HR: 97.22% vs 67.28% vs 51.83%; ***P = .001; OS: VLR/LR vs IR vs HR: 97.06% vs 94.12% vs 64.38%; *P = .046). In HR-NB patients treated according to the COG protocol between 2019 and 2021, the 3-year OS of patients who received tandem ASCT was significantly greater than those who did not receive ASCT (93.33% % vs 47.41%; *P = .046; log-rank test). EFS was not significantly different between patients with and without ASCT (72.16% vs 60.32%). Conclusion Our findings show that patients with lower risk classification have a positive prognosis for survival. The prognosis of patients with HR-NB remains in need of improvement. ASCT may enhance OS in HR-NB patients; however, protocol adjustment may be necessary to increase EFS in these patients.