Survival Rates for Neuroblastoma Based on Risk Groups

Survival rates are a way to get an idea of the outlook for children with a certain type of cancer. Some parents may want to know the statistics for children in similar situations, but others may not find the numbers helpful, or may even not want to know them.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of children who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Of course, many children live much longer than 5 years (and many are cured).

In order to get 5-year survival rates, doctors have to look at children who were treated at least 5 years ago. Improvements in treatment since then may result in a better outlook for children now being diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

Survival rates are based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had the disease, but they cannot predict what will happen in any particular child’s case. The risk group of a child’s cancer is important in estimating their outlook. But many other factors can also affect a child’s outlook, such as their age, the location of the tumor, and how well the cancer responds to treatment. Your child’s doctor can tell you how the numbers below might apply to your child, as he or she knows your situation best.

Survival by Children’s Oncology Group (COG) risk group

Low-risk group: Children in the low-risk group have a 5-year survival rate that is higher than 95%.

Intermediate-risk group: In children in the intermediate-risk group, the 5-year survival rate is around 90% to 95%.

High-risk group: The 5-year survival rate in children in the high-risk group is around 40% to 50%.