Survival rates increased about 20% for children with high-risk neuroblastoma enrolled in a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital clinical trial that included a novel monoclonal antibody produced onsite. The findings appeared today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Neuroblastoma is a cancer of immature nerve cells in the sympathetic nervous system. The tumor is diagnosed in about 700 individuals annually in the U.S., mostly children 5 years old or younger. Despite aggressive therapy, nearly half of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma die of their disease.
Results of a St. Jude phase II clinical trial reported significantly higher survival rates for newly diagnosed patients whose treatment included the humanized monoclonal antibody hu14.18K322A along with standard therapy for high-risk disease. Three-year disease-free survival was 73.7% for the 64 children enrolled in the study. The overall survival was 86%.
“I have treated high-risk neuroblastoma for 30 years, and I have never seen results like this in high-risk patients,” said first and corresponding author Wayne Furman, M.D., of the Department of Oncology. “This is the best result published to date for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma, period.”
AANS Neurosurgeon is the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and features information and analysis for contemporary neurosurgical practice. Published monthly online, AANS Neurosurgeon focuses on issues related to neurosurgery legislation, the workforce and practice management.
