Key genetic disorders in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma

Abstract

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a malignant neoplasm of the sympathetic nervous system of embryonic origin, consisting of undifferentiated neuroectodermal cells of the neural crest.In the structure of the incidence of malignant neoplasms in patients under one year of age, NB is the most common tumor. At the same time, mortality of this disease ranks third, behind leukemias and tumors of the central nervous system, and amounts to 13% in the structure of child mortalityfrom malignant tumors in developed countries. The stratification of patients to the risk groups and the subsequent determination of treatment tactics depends on several prognostic factors, including genetic aberrations identified in tumor cells. Moreover, processes such as spontaneous regression and transformation into benign tumors are due to the genetic characteristics of NB. Thus, the study of genetic disorders underlying the pathogenesis of NB is necessary for adequate subdivision of patients into risk groups and developing of new methods of treatment.