CURRENT BIOLOGIC AND THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS IN THE SURGERY OF NEUROBLASTOMA

Advances in the understanding of neuroblastoma biology have helped dis tinguish those patients who require maximum therapy from those who do not. However, management of children with advanced disease remains a s ignificant problem. New more intensive multiagent chemotherapy, ablati ve chemoradiotherapy with bone marrow transplantation, radiolabelled m onoclonal antibody technology and a host of biologic response modifier s are currently being intensively studied. Nevertheless, surgery remai ns crucial for diagnosis, for providing adequate tissue for biological and histopathologic staging, for primary and secondary resections as well as restaging after therapy. Major surgical questions remain to be addressed in cooperative group studies. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.