Neuroblastoma and Glioma Cancer

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system, a nerve network throughout the body which carries messages from the brain. It is a solid, malignant tumour which manifests as a lump or mass in the abdomen or around the spinal cord in the chest, neck or pelvis and is often present at birth but is most often diagnosed much later when a child begins to show symptoms of the disease. Despite its relatively low incidence, neuroblastoma is a serious disease with long term consequences, in particular increased risk of developing other tumours later in life.

As a consequence, many countries are investigating routine screening for neuroblastoma using a test that measures catecholamine, a metabolic product of the tumour cell. In Japan alone, approximately 1 million tests per year are performed with similar numbers occurring in Germany. In a single study in Quebec, approximately 500,000 children were tested in a 60 month period. These studies are showing that the catecholamine test over‑diagnoses neuroblastoma with little evidence of improved clinical outcome, and clearly endorses the need for a more specific and sensitive test.

Unlike the catecholamine test, the tumour specific protein markers discovered at The University of Michigan by Proteome Sciences’ collaborators have considerable potential as specific, sensitive, early diagnostic markers of neuroblastoma and early detection of those children diagnosed under the age of one has a highly effective cure rate of around 90%.

Commercial partners are required to develop tests using the protein biomarkers discovered.