What Are the Key Statistics About Neuroblastoma?
Neuroblastoma is by far the most common cancer in infants (less than 1 year old). It accounts for about 6% of all cancers in children. There are about 700 new cases of neuroblastoma each year in the United States. This number has remained about the same for many years.
The average age of children when they are diagnosed is about 1 to 2 years. In rare cases, neuroblastoma is detected by ultrasound even before birth. Nearly 90% of cases are diagnosed by age 5. Neuroblastoma is very rare in people over the age of 10 years.
In about 2 of 3 cases, the disease has already spread to the lymph nodes or to other parts of the body when it is diagnosed.
Statistics related to survival are discussed in the section Survival Rates for Neuroblastoma Based on Risk Groups.
Visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center for more key statistics.
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Our team is made up of doctors and master’s-prepared nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Last Medical Review: March 14, 2014 Last Revised: January 22, 2016
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