Symptoms of Neuroblastoma

Written by Kang Li
Neurosurgery
Updated on September 03, 2024
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Typical symptoms of neuroblastoma include anemia and fatigue, excitement, no weight gain or weight loss, or irregular fever. The initial symptoms in the course of a short disease are not typical. Early diagnosis is difficult. Nonspecific symptoms include fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, joint pain. Those occurring within the skull display a bit of central nervous system cursing symptoms and symptoms of intracranial hypertension. Main manifestation. Occurrence outside the skull depends on the location of the tumor and the metastatic sites. Involvement of the thoracic cavity can cause chest and back pain and difficulty breathing, involvement of the abdominal cavity is characterized by abdominal distension, constipation, dysentery, and involvement of the spinal canal manifests as reduced strength in the trunk and limbs, and motor and sensory disturbances.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Is neuroblastoma serious?

Neuroblastoma is relatively serious and is classified as a highly malignant tumor, one of the epithelial cell tumors. The disease often leads to severe intracranial pressure increases, manifesting as intense headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and even possible optic disc edema, vision loss, and visual field defects. The occurrence of neuroblastoma often indicates a poor prognosis for patients, with a short disease duration and reduced survival time. The five-year survival rate is decreased. Treatment primarily involves surgical intervention to completely remove the neuroblastoma, followed by postoperative radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other related treatments.

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Neurosurgery
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Causes of Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is a highly malignant tumor. In most cases, it is seen in neuroepithelial cells. Currently, there is no consensus on the specific causes of neuroblastoma. It is generally believed that congenital genetic factors, as well as mutations, gene deletions, and changes in tumor suppressor genes in patients, are greatly related. Acquired factors should not be ignored either, such as poor lifestyle and dietary habits. In most cases, the prognosis for neuroblastoma is poor, with patients having a short survival period. Most patients, even after undergoing surgical treatment, often experience poor outcomes and ultimately die from multi-organ dysfunction and failure.

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Precursors to neuroblastoma recurrence

For neuroblastoma, if recurrence occurs, the patient may show symptoms like recurrent headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Additionally, if the optic nerve is involved, there may be a decrease in vision and visual field defects. Even the possibility exists that the tumor could recur, increase in size, and compress surrounding important blood vessels and nerves, leading to an increase in intracranial pressure, which manifests as worsening of the original symptoms of headaches and dizziness. Once such symptoms occur, it generally suggests a high likelihood of neuroblastoma recurrence. If it causes symptoms such as hemiplegia and aphasia, it can generally be confirmed.

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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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Neurosurgery
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Neuroblastoma examination items

For neuroblastoma, the examination items mainly include the patient's vital signs and physical examination, including detailed examinations to observe if there are any obvious pathological signs. Additionally, it is necessary to inquire about the patient’s medical history, especially past medical history and family history. Main examination items include laboratory tests, routine blood and urine tests, biochemistry, and tumor-related tests. Furthermore, examinations also involve using a cranial CT scan, MRI of the head, and if necessary, an enhanced MRI scan of the head, to further determine the presence of neuroblastoma, as well as its location, quantity, and the relationship between the surrounding tissues, blood vessels, and nerves.