Comparison of the Initial Treatment Results of N-myc Positive and N-myc Negative Neuroblastoma Patients

Background: Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial malignant solid tumor of childhood. Various molecular and cytogenetic factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma, some of which have proven useful in predicting clinical behavior. Over expression of the oncogen N-myc, is an important indicator of prognosis. Materials and Methods: Our study was performed from 2004 to 2008 in Mofid Children’s Hospital in Tehran, Iran. In our case control study patients who were diagnosed as neuroblastoma were enrolled. They were checked for N-myc by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method in tumor tissue. Initially all patients were treated with conventional chemotherapy then were accessed to define their responses. Results: In our study 18 patients were diagnosed as neuroblastoma. Twelve of them were female and six of them were male. They were 6 month to 6 years old. Eight patients were N-myc positive (case) and ten patients were N-myc negative (control). None of N-myc positive patients responded to conventional chemotherapy, but eight N-myc negative patients responded to conventional chemotherapy. N-myc in neuroblastoma had a significant correlation with the prognosis (PV =0.028). Conclusion: We suggest conventional chemotherapy for N-myc negative patients and intensive chemotherapy for N-myc positive patients to obtain the best results. Key words: Neuroblastoma, solid tumor, cancer, childhood, genetics