The type of therapy chosen will depend upon the age of the child and the extent of the disease. The decision of how to treat the disease is made by both you and your child's doctor. In a number of newborns with neuroblastoma the tumors disappear without therapy. In general, this is not true for older children with neuroblastoma. Over 60 percent of all children with neuroblastoma are older than 1 year and have metastases.
Chemotherapy is the use of medications to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy not only destroys cancer cells, but also affects the growth of normal cells and therefore has side effects which will be explained to you. Surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor may be done early, during the diagnostic period, or later after the tumor has been shrunk with radiation or chemotherapy drugs. If there is wide spread of the disease, surgery is usually done after chemotherapy to minimize the risk of injury to vital organs that the neuroblastoma may be effecting. If your child has Stage 3 or 4 neuroblastoma, more information will be given to you about this treatment option. The usual length of treatment is about nine months.