How does neuroblastoma heal itself?

Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
Updated on September 03, 2024
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Neuroblastoma cannot completely heal by itself. Once neuroblastoma is detected, patients should be promptly taken to local hospitals for treatment, be hospitalized, and undergo skull CT or MRI scans. If necessary, enhanced MRI scans can be conducted to clarify the current location of the tumor and its relationship with surrounding tissues, and to determine the surgical plan. The tumor should be completely removed through surgery. After the surgery, a small amount of tumor tissue should be kept for pathological slides to assess the need for radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other related treatments based on the results of the pathological examination. For some elderly and frail patients who cannot tolerate surgery, Gamma Knife treatment can also be considered.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Can neuroblastoma be cured?

Neuroblastoma is a malignant tumor that often grows rapidly. In the early stages of the disease, it can easily invade surrounding tissues and nerves, making it very difficult to completely remove the tumor through surgery. In most cases, even after surgical treatment, there is a high tendency for recurrence in children, making it difficult to achieve a clinical cure. For most patients with neuroblastoma, early post-surgical treatment involving high doses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy can effectively reduce the likelihood of tumor recurrence and appropriately prolong the patient’s lifespan. This helps in extending the lifespan and improving the quality of life to some extent, but generally, the final prognosis remains poor.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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How to diagnose neuroblastoma?

For neuroblastoma, the final diagnosis requires the patient to undergo surgical treatment. During the surgery, the neuroblastoma is completely excised, and a small amount of tumor tissue is retained for pathological sectioning. The diagnosis is determined based on the results of the pathological examination, which assesses the specific cells of the neuroblastoma, whether it is benign or malignant, and its level of malignancy. This also determines how the patient will receive subsequent treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In addition to relying on pathological examinations, most neuroblastoma patients can also undergo more thorough examinations. In most cases, elevated levels of catecholamines and their metabolites can be found in the blood or urine of neuroblastoma patients, significantly higher than that of the normal population.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Can neuroblastoma be treated?

Neuroblastoma is the most common tumor in childhood, and it is also the most common in infants and toddlers. Typically, neuroblastoma is a type of neuroendocrine tumor, clinically found often in the adrenal glands or in nervous tissues such as the neck, chest, and abdomen. Currently, neuroblastoma can be effectively classified according to its level of risk into low-risk, intermediate-risk, or high-risk groups. For patients in the low-risk group, surgical treatment can achieve satisfactory results; for patients in the intermediate-risk or high-risk groups, treatment often involves a combination of methods, yet still may not achieve satisfactory results.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Neuroblastoma ultrasound manifestations

Regarding the ultrasonic manifestations of neuroblastoma, they typically occur at the site of the neuroblastoma. Some neuroblastomas occur in the retroperitoneal space, such as near the adrenal glands or alongside the spine, usually presenting direct and indirect signs. Direct signs often manifest as a large tumor volume, often crossing the midline, characterized internally primarily by hypoechoic areas with significant returns unevenness, and rich blood flow around the tumor. Some patients may exhibit tumor calcification, which can cause encasement or invasion of major retroperitoneal vessels, but less commonly invasion resulting in acid efflux. Indirect signs mainly include causing renal hydronephrosis, potentially leading to enlargement of surrounding lymph nodes, and causing ascites.

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Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
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Is calcification of neuroblastoma good?

In clinical practice, although calcification is a relatively favorable phenomenon, the overall condition of neuroblastoma does not change significantly because of it. Therefore, it is still not a good sign. For neuroblastoma, whether calcification occurs or not, it remains a form of tumor. Only through early surgical treatment can the problem be fundamentally resolved, otherwise, there is a tendency for recurrence and metastasis to occur later on. Moreover, it is important to note that regardless of whether the tumor calcifies, its nature does not change. Only fundamental treatment can bring better hope, so calcification does not lead to very good outcomes.