Relapsed Neuroblastoma Research Articles

131-Metaiodobenzylguanedine therapy of neuroblastoma in childhood. One year of therapeutic experience.

Eleven children with neuroblastoma refractory to conventional therapy or relapse of neuroblastoma were treated with 131-metaiodobenzylguanedine (MIBG). The therapeutic results and the side effects were evaluated. In one patient with disseminated bone marrow involvement complete remission was obtained. Partial remission was observed in six patients and stable disease in another. Three patients did not respond to MIBG, in two of them the tumours did not accumulate a sufficient MIBG dose. Clinical and laboratory examinations revealed an excellent tolerance of MIBG in all patients. First attempts to continue cytostasis after MIBG therapy were made. MIBG has a good therapeutic efficacy is sufficiently incorporated into the tumour cell.

Clinical Experiences in the Treatment of Neuroblastoma with131I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine

Treatment of neuroblastoma is an unsolved problem of pediatric oncology. In spite of highly intensified chemotherapy, the long-term survival rate of children with a metastatic neuroblastoma is below 10%. We therefore used 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) for the first time to treat children with a neuroblastoma in relapse or primary unresponsiveness to chemotherapy. We had previously demonstrated that MIBG is useful for the scintigraphic imaging of neuroblastoma lesions and had investigated the cytotoxicity and uptake of MIBG in various neuroblastoma cell lines. We treated 6 children with neuroblastoma in a total of 19 courses. Three of the children suffered from a relapse of neuroblastoma; 3 had never gained a remission. Four of the 6 children lost their bone pain and fever during the first 3 days. In 5 of the 6 children the solid tumor as well as the bone marrow infiltration responded to MIBG treatment, with responses ranging from transitory decrease of the tumor mass to complete disappearance of abdominal tumors. We also witnessed a stabilization of osteolytic lesions, a decrease in elevated serum catecholamines, and a decrease in bone marrow infiltration. Five of the 6 children died of tumor progression 55-249 days after the first MIBG treatment.