Outcomes and complications of surgery in patients with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma: experience from an Indian tertiary Cancer Centre

• DOI: 10.1007/s00383-018-4241-5
• Publication Date: 2018-02-27T11:46:34Z
• Authors: Sajid S. Qureshi; Monica Bhagat; Caleb Harris; Girish Chinnaswamy; Tushar Vora; Seema Kembhavi; Maya Prasad; Mukta Ramadwar; Omshree Shetty; Siddharth Laskar; Nehal Khanna; Nayna Amin; Sanjay Talole
• Keywords: Image-Guided Biopsy; Male; Incidence; Infant, Newborn; India; Infant; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Disease-Free Survival; 3. Good health; Survival Rate; Tertiary Care Centers; Neuroblastoma; 03 medical and health sciences; Postoperative Complications; 0302 clinical medicine; Risk Factors; Child, Preschool; Positron-Emission Tomography; Humans; Female; Child; Neoplasm Staging; Retrospective Studies

The treatment of intermediate risk (IR) neuroblastoma has evolved with the focus now on reducing the drugs, dosage, and duration of chemotherapy. The aim of this study is to present the outcomes of treatment and the complications of surgery in patients with IR neuroblastoma treated at a tertiary cancer center in India.All eligible patients with IR neuroblastoma treated between April 2005 and August 2016 were identified. The presence and number of image-defined risk factors (IDRF) before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed as were the extent of surgery, complications, and outcomes.Of 282 neuroblastoma patients treated during the study period, 54 had IR neuroblastoma. Complete excision was achieved in 25 patients. There were 26 surgical complications in 22 patients with a similar incidence in patients with complete (n = 13) or incomplete (n = 13) resection (p = 0.78). After a median follow-up of 47 months, the 4-year overall and event-free survival was 91.5% and 75%, respectively. There was no difference in survival between patients who underwent complete resection versus those with incomplete resection (p = 0.9).Outcomes of IR neuroblastoma are favorable. The extent of resection does not affect the survival and complications can occur even when the resection is incomplete.