Molecular Markers in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, one of the common malignant childhood tumors, arises from neuroblast cells derived from the neural crest and destined for the adrenal medulla and the sympathetic nervous system and shows remarkable biological heterogeneity, resulting in favorable or unfavorable outcomes. Some tumors make rapid progress with a fatal outcome. In other instances, the tumors regress pontaneously in infants or to differentiate into a benign ganglioneuroma in older patients. This heterogeneity within neuroblastoma depends on the molecular characteristics of tumor cells. Several distinct genomic alterations have been found in neuroblastoma, including MYCN amplification, DNA ploidy, deletion of the short arm of chromosome 1, gain of chromosome 17q, and deletion of 11q. The difference ofexpression was also found in genes related to cellular growth, differentiation, and apoptosis of neural network including signaling by NTRK1 or ALK receptor tyrosine kinases, and telomerase activity. And this presentation discusses diagnostic and prognostic molecular makers for extensive heterogeneity of neuroblastoma. This should lead to more risk-adapted therapies according to the genetic markers by which individual neuroblastomas are biologically characterized.