Clinical features of neuroblastoma: an analysis of 44 children

Abstract

Objective To study the clinical features of neuroblastoma (NB) and the factors influencing survival rate. Methods A total of 44 children with NB who were admitted from April 2016 to February 2020 were enrolled as research subjects. A retrospective analysis was performed on their medical data and follow-up data. Results The common clinical symptoms of these 44 children were fever (10/44, 23%), mass (9/44, 20%), abdominal pain (8/44, 18%), cough (7/44, 16%), pale complexion (3/44, 7%), claudication (2/44, 5%), and abnormal activity (2/44, 5%). According to the INSS stage, 2 children (4%) had stage I NB, 5 children (11%) had stage II NB, 5 children (11%) had stage III NB, and 32 children (73%) had stage IV NB. The mean follow-up time was (15.3±1.5) months, with a recurrence rate of 20% and an overall survival rate of 82%. Among the 44 children, 29 (66%) achieved event-free survival and 7 (16%) had survival with tumor. The univariate analysis showed that a pathological type of NB and an increase in serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) decreased the overall survival rate of children with NB (P Conclusions The clinical symptoms of children with NB are not specific at the first visit. Fever, abdominal pain, and mass are common symptoms, and there is a high proportion of children in the advanced stage. The pathological type of NB and an increase in serum NSE may be associated with a reduction in the overall survival rate of children with NB.