Comparison of the diagnostic and prognostic value of biological markers in neuroblastoma

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The prognosis of pediatric neuroblastoma depends both on clinical presentation and on certain cellular and molecular characteristics. Screening programs have been initiated in infants of less than one year of age, based on the hypothesis that neuroblastoma progresses from early to late clinical stages through a classical multistep process linked to an accumulation of molecular abnormalities. However, recent analyses suggest that most cases discovered by screening are low stage tumors considered as dysembryogenetic residues devoid from major abnormalities and that high-grade tumors with molecular abnormalities are unrelated diseases. To confirm one or the other hypothesis, and eventually identify biological factors possibly responsible for the initiation and progression of the disease, it is of upmost importance that all investigators agree on biological criteria for analysis when neuroblastoma tissue is available in screened and unscreened populations. This paper reviews the biological tools available for prognosis in neuroblastoma, the priority for analysis of biological markers according to both methodological reliability and feasibility, and the conditions of tissue storage for further analysis of these biological markers. The standardized biological evaluation of neuroblastoma will allow to collect sufficient data for multivariate analysis; such analysis is now fundamental if one wants to clearly define the respective impacts of biological abnormalities on neuroblastoma progression.