Survival Rates by Risk Group for Neuroblastoma

Survival rates are a way to measure how many people survive a certain type of cancer over time. They cannot tell you exactly what will happen with any one person, but they may help give you a better understanding about how likely it is that treatment will be successful.

Survival rates in neuroblastoma are defined by the risk group of the tumor, which is a combination of the extent of the tumor and other prognostic factors that affect a child’s outlook. For more information, see Stages, Prognostic Markers, and Risk Groups for Neuroblastoma.

What is a 5-year survival rate?

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).

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

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

The COG (the major group of doctors who treat childhood cancer in the United States) risk group system uses the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Staging System (INRGSS), along with the major prognostic factors. These are combined to place children into 1 of 3 risk groups:

• Low-risk group: Children in the low-risk group have a 5-year survival rate that is higher than 95%.
• Intermediate-risk group: Children in the intermediate-risk group have a 5-year survival rate around 95%.
• High-risk group: Children in the high-risk group have a 5-year survival rate around 60%.

While these risk groups provide an estimate of how well treatment may work, your doctor knows your child’s case the best. Talk with your treatment team about how these numbers may apply in your child’s situation.