Neuroblastoma Survival Rates by Risk Group
Survival rates are a way to get an idea of the outlook for children with a certain type of cancer. Some parents might want to know the statistics for children in similar situations, but others might 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: Children in the intermediate-risk group have a 5-year survival rate of around 90% to 95%.
High-risk group: Children in the high-risk group have a 5-year survival rate around 40% to 50%.
Last Medical Review: March 19, 2018 Last Revised: March 19, 2018
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.