Epidemiology and outcomes in pediatric neuroblastoma: a US population-based study
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health , , ,
- 2Department of Hematology and Oncology, John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center , , ,
- 3Department Family Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health , , ,
Abstract
Purpose
Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous pediatric malignancy with variable outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate survival outcomes and identify independent prognostic factors using a large population-based cohort.Methods
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify 863 patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma between 2000 and 2017. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to assess predictors of overall and cancer-specific mortality.Results
The cohort included nearly equal numbers of males and females, with most patients diagnosed before 10 years of age. The majority of patients were non-Hispanic White, followed by Hispanic and non-Hispanic African American patients. In univariate analysis, race/ethnicity showed differences in mortality; however, these were not significant after multivariable adjustment. Increasing age at diagnosis was strongly associated with worse survival, with infants (<1 year) demonstrating the best outcomes and adolescents (10-19 years) the highest mortality risk. Distant metastatic disease was independently associated with increased mortality. Surgical resection was associated with improved overall survival, whereas chemotherapy was associated with higher mortality, likely reflecting confounding by indication due to treatment selection in high-risk disease.Conclusion
Age at diagnosis and disease stage are the strongest independent predictors of survival in pediatric neuroblastoma. Race/ethnicity was not independently associated with outcomes after adjustment. Observed associations between chemotherapy and mortality likely reflect underlying disease severity rather than treatment effect.
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BibTeX
@article{wadhwani2026epidemiology,
title = {{Epidemiology and outcomes in pediatric neuroblastoma: a US population-based study}},
author = {Shruti Wadhwani and Nikita Wadhwani and Vignesh K. Nagesh and Izage Kianifar Aguilar and Behzad Amoozgar and Sindhu Avvari and Kousik Surya Sridharan and Aman Siddiqui and Urveesh Sharma and Olga Velichko and Kwangha Baek and Auda Auda and Valentino O. Baldeo and Tirth Bhavsar and Georgia Souza and Harman Antaal and Florchi Furman and Priya Rokade and Gopal Mondal and Pavan T. Vaddera and Divya Bhagavathi and Sumreen Nazly and Dessislava Papantoniou and Grace John and Dhanush K. Aruljothi and Reshma Radhakrishnan and Juilee V. Dongre},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1861046},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716652},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Epidemiology and outcomes in pediatric neuroblastoma: a US population-based study
AU - Shruti Wadhwani
AU - Nikita Wadhwani
AU - Vignesh K. Nagesh
AU - Izage Kianifar Aguilar
AU - Behzad Amoozgar
AU - Sindhu Avvari
AU - Kousik Surya Sridharan
AU - Aman Siddiqui
AU - Urveesh Sharma
AU - Olga Velichko
AU - Kwangha Baek
AU - Auda Auda
AU - Valentino O. Baldeo
AU - Tirth Bhavsar
AU - Georgia Souza
AU - Harman Antaal
AU - Florchi Furman
AU - Priya Rokade
AU - Gopal Mondal
AU - Pavan T. Vaddera
AU - Divya Bhagavathi
AU - Sumreen Nazly
AU - Dessislava Papantoniou
AU - Grace John
AU - Dhanush K. Aruljothi
AU - Reshma Radhakrishnan
AU - Juilee V. Dongre
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Frontiers in medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1861046
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716652
AB - Purpose Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous pediatric malignancy with variable outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate survival outcomes and identify independent prognostic factors using a large population-based cohort.Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify 863 patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma between 2000 and 2017. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to assess predictors of overall and cancer-specific mortality.Results The cohort included nearly equal numbers of males and females, with most patients diagnosed before 10 years of age. The majority of patients were non-Hispanic White, followed by Hispanic and non-Hispanic African American patients. In univariate analysis, race/ethnicity showed differences in mortality; however, these were not significant after multivariable adjustment. Increasing age at diagnosis was strongly associated with worse survival, with infants (<1 year) demonstrating the best outcomes and adolescents (10-19 years) the highest mortality risk. Distant metastatic disease was independently associated with increased mortality. Surgical resection was associated with improved overall survival, whereas chemotherapy was associated with higher mortality, likely reflecting confounding by indication due to treatment selection in high-risk disease.Conclusion Age at diagnosis and disease stage are the strongest independent predictors of survival in pediatric neuroblastoma. Race/ethnicity was not independently associated with outcomes after adjustment. Observed associations between chemotherapy and mortality likely reflect underlying disease severity rather than treatment effect.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -