[Neuroblastoma in childhood. Review of clinical aspects and of 2 forms of treatment].

The optimum time for a surgical resection of the primary lesion in the advanced neuroblastoma has not been defined properly. Recently the therapeutic results of the advanced neuroblastoma have improved through the use of preoperative chemotherapy. We check on our patients who were affected by this disease in the last 15 years. From 185 malignant tumours diagnosed in our department, 52 belonged to neuroblastomas with more than 12 months of evolution. Most of them were diagnosed during the year after their birth and it was not observed a difference of sexes. The location was the habitual one, except 2 cases of thoracoabdominal tumour and 1 of stesioneuroblastoma the most common manifestation was the metastatic disease. Catecholamines in 24 hours urine were positive in 74% of our patients, and enolase in 100% of the same ones. The longest percentage of patients is distributed in the advanced stages of Evans.