Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Radio-diagnosis

Neuroblastoma is the third most common childhood cancer. It is the most common extra-cranial solid tumor of childhood. It accounts for nearly 15% of all pediatric cancer fatalities. It can occur anywhere within the sympathetic nervous system, approximately 46% of neuroblastoma arise from the adrenal gland. The clinical features of neuroblastoma are highly variable and depend on the site of the primary lesion and the extent of metastatic disease. It has a variable prognosis; tumor stage, patient age, tumor oncogenes and DNA content are all known to be implicated. A variety of staging systems have been developed to classify the extent of disease in neuroblastoma patients. In 2009, the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) Project proposed a new staging system.The new INRG Staging System includes two stages of localized disease, which are dependent on whether image-defined risk factors (IDRFs) are or are not present. IDRFs are surgical risk factors, detected on images, that make total tumor excision risky or difficult. This retrospective study involved 43 patients with abdominal neuroblastic tumor, from which 79.1% were metastatic at time of diagnosis and considered high risk patients (HR)

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