Epidemiology of neuroblastoma: analysis of a single institution.

Background: Neuroblastoma is the fourth most frequent cancer among all pediatric neoplasms Epidemiological studies may shed more light on the disease and aid in improving treatment of patients with neuroblastoma.

Patients And Methods: Epidemiology data are presented for 333 children with neuroblastoma or ganglioneuroblastoma and 11 children with ganglioneuroma who were treated at the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, Poland, from 1962 to 1996.

Results: Analysis of the stage of the disease, age, sex and survival of children with neuroblastoma demonstrated comparable distribution of good and intermediate stages versus the stages with a poor prognosis.

Conclusion: Comprehensive analysis of epidemiological data on the stage of cancer, age, sex and survival in patients with neuroblastoma provides a basis for better prognosis of the disease and cost-efficient treatment.