Are adult and pediatric neuroblastoma clinically different entities?

Abstract

10049 Background: It is unknown if the presentation, treatment, and outcomes differ between adults and pediatric patients with neuroblastoma. Methods: Medical records of 118 adults (patients >17 years old) and 112 pediatric patients (ages 2-17), who were treated for neuroblastoma at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1994 to September 2012, were reviewed. International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) variables were abstracted. These include age, stage, tumor histology, and molecular and cytogenetic characteristics. The primary outcome of interest was overall survival (OS). Results: Median age of pediatric patients was 5 years (range 3-16) and 47 years (range 18-82) for adult patients. Beyond age and stage, other components of the INRG classification were not available for any adult patient. Cytogenetic and molecular studies were performed in 32 (26%) of pediatric patients. Adults with L1 disease experienced an actuarial OS of 94%, 90%, and 69% at years 3, 5, and 10, respectively. The cohort who presented with L2 disease had an estimated OS of 83% at 3 year, 73% at 5 years, and 41% at 10 years. Adults with M disease experienced an actuarial OS of 68%, 33%, and 13% at years 1, 2 and 5, respectively. In the adult cohort, the INRG stage was prognostic in univariate analysis (p<0.001). For all stage-matched risk categories, adults did not have a statistically different prognosis than children (L1-p=0.40, L2-p=0.54, M-p=0.73). Conclusions: Adult and pediatric patients with neuroblastoma achieve similar survival outcomes, with good prognosis for early-stage patients. Future work should focus on developing predictive markers for determining which patients benefit from more aggressive therapy. [Table: see text]