NEUROBLASTOMA AND ITS THERAPY - A REVIEW

Neuroblastoma (NBL) is a malignancy of the sympathetic nervous system seen in children, infants, foetus, and embryos. The organs likely to affect include Adrenal glands, above the kidneys or nervous tissue adjacent to spine, neck, chest and pelvis. Skin, Bone, Lymph nodes, Bone marrow are effected by metastasis. The most common symptoms seen are a lump in the abdomen, chest or neck, Bulging eyes, Dark circles around the eyes, Bone pain, Swollen stomach & troubled breathing in babies, Painless, bluish lumps under the skin in babies and inability to move a body part. Inability to empty the bladder, Loss of movement of the hips, legs, or feet, uncontrolled eye movements or leg and feet movements. Disease can be diagnosed by Complete Blood Count, Biopsy, and Genetic studies, CT- Scan, PET CT-Scan and MRI. Treatment can be done by surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biologic therapy, or a combination. Anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) in combination with systemic cytokine immunotherapy shows clinical efficacy in high-risk NBL patients. Targeted therapy using Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors (HDACi) is currently being explored in cancer treatment