Factors which affect survival following relapse in neuroblastomas

Despite advances in neuroblastoma treatments, in children who are treated as ‘high-risk’, the cancer returns (relapses) in around half of these patients. As the vast majority of patients will have incurable cancer at this point, new understanding of what influences relapse is vitally needed to help develop better options for treating these children. It has previously been reported that the longer the time from diagnosis to relapse, the longer the length of survival of a child following a relapse. It is also known that having many copies of a cancer-causing gene called MYCN oncogene adversely affects the length of survival following relapse. Professor Tweddle’s team aims to identify many more clinical and genetic factors affecting patient survival after relapse, information which could then guide new treatment options for relapsed patients.

Professor Tweddle’s project will:

1. Identify all UK and Ireland patients with relapsed neuroblastoma since 2000 and identify clinical and biological factors associated with relapse and length of survival following relapse.
2. Identify all UK patients treated on the recently closed European high-risk neuroblastoma trial (HR-NBL1) with relapsed or refractory (cancer not responding to treatment) disease and determine how their biology differs from those who have survived 5 years without relapse.

By undertaking this project, Professor Tweddle’s team will identify new biological markers to predict relapse and length of survival after relapse. They can use this valuable UK and Ireland data on relapsed neuroblastoma to compare with other studies carried out elsewhere in the world. The new information collected through this research will be used to help guide new treatment plans benefitting patients within the next 5 years.