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Neuroblastoma is a cancer of the
sympathetic nervous system that is diagnosed in approximately 50
children in Canada each year, and 250 children in the Unites States.
It represents between 8-10% of all childhood cancers but is
responsible for a disproportionate number of cancer-related deaths.
The prognosis for neuroblastoma patients depends upon the age of the
child at diagnosis and the stage of the disease-the younger the
child, the better the chance for cure. Over the last 20 years, there
has been modest improvement, due to research, in the prognosis of
children diagnosed before the age of one. There has been little
improvement, however, for older children with widespread disease at
the time of diagnosis. |
