Awareness of the Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Disease

Neuroblastoma

stage 4 is a cancer that has spread to the body’s other areas – such as the bones, lymph nodes, bone marrow, liver, skin or potentially other vital organs.

If your child has been diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, keep reading for more information about the disease, survival rates, risk factors, and common treatments.

An Overview

Neuroblastoma is the most common form of cancer in infants and the third most typical cancer for children. However, there are only 650 cases of the disease diagnosed each year in the United States. Ninety percent of those cases are discovered in children under the age of 7.

A third of all instances develop in the adrenal glands, and another third start in the sympathetic nervous system ganglia in the abdomen. The remaining cases typically start in the neck, chest or pelvis sympathetic ganglia regions.

Survival Rates

With most cases of the cancer, the five year survival rate for children under the age of 1 is an impressive 83%. For kids between 1 and 4, it’s 55% and for children 5 and older, only 40%.

But children with stage 4 Neuroblastoma normally have much lower survival rates. They hover between 50% and 80% for infants (under a year old) and drop to 15% for children over the age of 1.

Treatments Used for the Disease

Children who are diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma are considered high risk. They are typically subjected to intensive, high-dosage chemotherapy accompanied by surgery and stem cell transplantations. Typically though, surgery is the first step unless the Neuroblastoma has spread too far.

In most cases, treatment involves a combination of medications. The main drugs used to treat children with this are cisplatin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, etoposide and topotecan. These drugs produce a positive response in two thirds of children.

In certain cases, particularly when the cancer has spread too far to be completely removed by surgery – as is the case with the fourth stage – chemotherapy is the primary treatment.

Bone Marrow and Blood Stem Cell Transplants

Because high-dosage chemotherapy will wipe out bone marrow, new blood cells are no longer being developed, so children are at a high risk.

Because kids diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma must often undergo intense chemotherapy sessions, they should also be prepared for a bone marrow transplant and/or a secondary blood stem cell transplant.

Treatments of Radiation

Typically, radiation treatments are used as a final attempt to kill any remaining cancer cells after surgery on an affected area.

However, in many instances of late-stage and advanced Neuroblastoma, it’s rarely used unless it’s implemented as a pain-management tool or in conjunction with chemotherapy.

For helpful information on various cancers – please visit cancerinfotips.com – a popular site providing symptom and treatment insights – such as men’s breast cancer – childhood osteosarcoma – and many more!