Neuroblastoma (NBL) accounts for 8 - 10% of childhood malignancies and 15% of cancer deaths in children.
Incidence (USA) in children younger than 15 years:
- 10.4 per million per year in white children
- 8.3 per million black children
- Uniform throughout the world for industrialized countries
Prevalence (USA) - 1 case per 7000 live births or 800 new cases per year
Male: female ratio of 1.2:1
In Canada:
- Just over 300 children (aged 0 - 14) were diagnosed with neuroblastoma between 2001 and 2005.
- 82 children died of this disease between 2000 and 2004
- This disease has a low observed survival proportion (72%) compared to other childhood cancers.
This information comes from Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
Neuroblastoma is the most frequent tumor to be diagnosed in children less than one year of age (50% of cases are diagnosed within the first year of life) but is extremely rare in children over 10 years of age.
