Childhood neuroblastomas

Teitz T, Wei T, Valentine MB et al. Caspase 8 is deleted or silenced preferentially in childhood neuroblastomas with amplification of MYCN. Nat Med 2000 6 529-535. 

Abstract Indoor contamination is one source of exposure to toxic pollutants and has been classified as a high environmental risk. Epidemiological research linked health effects including childhood leukemia and neuroblastoma to the indoor occurrence of pesticides. Pesticides in indoor environments contribute to human exposure via inhalation, non dietary ingestion and dermal contact. Sources for pesticides indoors are direct applications, pesticides used in varnishes, colors, adhesives, etc., or in finishing textiles, leather, carpets, etc., and pesticides brought in from outdoors. Results for pesticides in indoor environments from different countries and obtained under different conditions are compiled in this chapter. They are discussed by applying two approaches (1) the comparison with reference values... 

Acute myelogenous and acute lymphocytic leukemia Soft-tissue, osteogenic, and other sarcoma Hodgkin s disease non-Hodgkin s lymphoma acute leukemia breast, genitourinary, thyroid, lung, stomach cancer neuroblastoma and other childhood sarcomas... 

Measurement of the catecholamines and a variety of the intermediate metabolites in blood or tissue is common in psychiatric and neurochemical research. In clinical chemistry the major interest in catecholamine metabolism surrounds the detection and location of the tumors of neural crest origin -phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma. These tumors are fortunately rare but their identification is important because if treated promptly they may be curable. Phaeochromocytoma is associated with secretion of adrenaline and/or noradrenaline into the bloodstream and can either be detected by the increase in the parent compounds or by increased VMA excretion. The most common presentation by the patient is hypertension unresponsive to conventional therapy. Neuroblastoma is the commonest malignant soft tissue tumor of childhood, arising from ectodermal neuroblasts. These tumors secrete abnormally high concentrations of dopamine which is largely metabolized to HVA. 

Wilms tumor (WT) accounts for 6% of childhood cancers, but for 90% of renal tumors in childhood (Grundy et al. 2002). It is the fourth most common pediatric cancer after acute leukemia, brain tumors and neuroblastoma. The incidence of WT is 8.1/10 in Caucasian children below the age of 15 (Breslow et al. 1994). 

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial tumor of the sympathetic nervous system, occurring predominantly in early childhood and accounting for 6.7% of childhood cancer. With increasing period of remission, CNS metastasis (both parenchymal and LM), though rare in the past... 

Neuroblastoma is a rare childhood cancer, affecting 10.2 per million children under 15 years of age, and is the most common type of cancer to be diagnosed in the first year of life [2]. It is a very complex and heterogeneous disease, and many factors... 

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