Neuroblastoma explained in under 500 words

Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that typically affects infants and young children. It is a very rare disease, affecting around 9 per million people.

Cancers are usually named after the organ that they affect: breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer. Neuroblastoma is no different, but has its origin a bit more hidden in its name: neuro refers to the nerves and the nervous system and blasts refers to developing, immature cells. Thus, neuroblastoma is a cancer of certain immature cells of the nervous system.

The nervous system controls everything we do: thinking, feeling, tasting, hearing. One part of the nervous system is the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls processes that we are unaware of: breathing, heart rate and digestion.

In response to danger for instance, your heart rate increases, your breathing gets quicker, your mouth gets dry (the “fight or flight” response). These reactions are due to a hormone called adrenaline. It is produced by the adrenal gland (a small organ above your kidneys). The adrenal gland is part of the sympathetic nervous system, which is a subdivision of the autonomous nervous system. The rest of the sympathetic nervous system is located right next to the spine.

Neuroblastoma originates from this part of the nervous system. In some children neuroblastoma starts growing in the adrenal gland, and in other children it starts as a mass next to the spine, in the neck or chest.

In adults, some cancers have been linked to environmental and lifestyle factors (like pollution, smoking and alcohol). But for most cancers, we simply do not know why they happen. In children this is even more the case; we don’t fully understand the causes yet.

What we do know is that neuroblastoma arises from the nerve cells that later form the sympathetic nervous system. During the pregnancy or around birth, instead of forming the nerve fibers that they are supposed to, these cells start dividing uncontrollably, resulting in cancer.

Our team is investigating why neuroblastoma happens, and why some children with neuroblastoma are so resistant to therapy. We also try to develop novel drugs that can target neuroblastoma cells more specific, without harming other cells in the body. Our ultimate goal is to improve the survival of children with this disease.

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Cover-photo: neuroblastoma cells under the microscope. Reference:
Oudijk, L., De Krijger, R., Pacak, K., & Tischler, A. (2000). Adrenal medulla and extra-adrenal paraganglia. In O. Mete & S. Asa (Eds.), Endocrine Pathology (pp. 628–676). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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