Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a rare type of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children.
It develops from specialised nerve cells (neuroblasts) left behind from a baby's development in the womb.
Neuroblastoma most commonly occurs in one of the adrenal glands situated above the kidneys, or in the nerve tissue that runs alongside the spinal cord in the neck, chest,tummy or pelvis.
It can spread to other organs such as the bone marrow, bone, lymph nodes, liver and skin.
It affects around 100 children each year in the UK and is most common in children under the age of five.
The cause is unknown. There are very rare cases where children in the same family are affected, but generally neuroblastoma doesn't run in families.
This page covers:
Find out what neuroblastoma is, what the symptoms are, how it's diagnosed and how it's treated.
The symptoms of neuroblastoma vary depending on where the cancer is and whether it has spread. The early symptoms can be vague and hard to spot, and can easily be mistaken for those of more common chi
A number of tests may be carried out if it's thought your child could have neuroblastoma. These tests may include: a urine test to check for certain chemicalsproduced by neuroblastoma cellsthat ar
As with most cancers, neuroblastoma is given a stage. This indicates if it has spread and, if so, how far. The staging system used for neuroblastoma is: stage L1 the cancer is just in one place a
The main treatments for neuroblastoma are: surgery to remove the cancer sometimes this may be all that's needed chemotherapy (where medication is used to kill cancer cells) this may be the on
Being told your child has cancer can be a distressing and daunting experience. You may find it useful to contact a support group or charity, such as: Cancer Research UK Children's Cancer and Le