Analysis of the initial symptoms and its diagnostic significance in children with neuroblastoma / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the significance of the initial clinical symptoms and clinical manifestations of neuroblastoma(NB)to achive early identification of NB. Methods A retrospective study was performed on patients diagnosed with NB,who attended the Hematology Oncology Center,Beijing Childrenˊs Hospital from March 31st ,2007 to March 31st,2015. The clinical characteristics were compared between the children 〈1_year_old and≥1_year_old. The result was analyzed to compare the difference in clinical symptoms and tumor biologic characteristics of patients with different initial clinical symptoms between 2 groups. Results A total of 330 patients were included in the study,43 of them were younger than 1 year old,and their most common symptoms were cough and fever( each 17 cases,and accounted for 39. 5%,respectively);while the most common symptoms in patients≥1_year_old(287 cases)was fe_ver(177 cases,61. 7%),followed by lymphadenopathy(107 cases,37. 3%),bone pain(97 cases,33. 8%)and anemia (48 cases,16. 7%). The frequency of symptoms differed significantly between 2 groups(all P〈0. 05),such as fever (39. 5% vs. 61. 7%,χ2 ﹦6. 68),anemia(4. 7% vs. 16. 7%,χ2 ﹦6. 00),bone pain(0 vs. 33. 8%,χ2 ﹦18. 99),abdo_minal pain(0 vs. 25. 3%,χ2 ﹦10. 19),diarrhea(16. 3% vs. 3. 0%,χ2 ﹦12. 73),lymphadenopathy(7. 0% vs. 37. 3%, χ2 ﹦14. 12)and anorexia(9. 3% vs. 33. 4%,χ2 ﹦9. 21). Datients had fever,anemia,lymphadenopathy,cutaneous hemorrhagic spot or periorbital ecchymosis,bone pain,abdominal pain,exophthalmos,and anorexia early in the initial course of the disease,whose serum lactate dehydrogenase values were significantly increased(P〈0. 05). Datients suf_fered from fever,anemia,lymphadenopathy,bone pain,limbs dysfunctions,abdominal pain at the beginning of the disease,whose urine vanillymandelic acid values were higher than normal(P〈0. 05). Conclusions The study of sympto_mology suggests the most common symptoms in patients with NB 〈1_year_old are cough and fever,while those ≥1_year_old are fever,lymphadenopathy,bone pain,and anemia. Por patients with symptoms mentioned,carrying out the necessary NB_diagnose_related laboratory and imaging studies was statistically relevant to patientsˊ ages(〈1_year_old and≥1_year_old),which may contribute to earlier identification and diagnosis of NB.