A trial to discriminate spontaneous regression from non-regression cases during mass screening for neuroblastoma.
We tried to discriminate between cases of spontaneous regression and non-regression during mass screening for neuroblastoma, taking advantage of differences in respect to the urinary homoranillic acid/vanillyl mandelic acid (HVA/VMA) ratio and the original tumor site among true positive, false negative and natural occurrence cases. After classifying them into a total of six groups depending on the two factors, ratio: < 1, 1-2 or > or = 2 and tumor site: adrenal or extra-adrenal in origin, we calculated the mathematical probability of a given true positive case being one of spontaneous regression. A tumor of extra-adrenal origin was likely to regress spontaneously, especially one with an HVA/VMA ratio < 1 or > or = 2 (82.2-100%). A tumor of adrenal origin with an HVA/VMA ratio < 1 seemed unlikely to regress spontaneously (0-4%). The present method, employing simple preoperative information, would be useful in future for the selection of true positive cases which should be observed without treatment.
Department of Public Health, Sapporo Medical College.
M
M
Nishi
H
H
Miyake
T
T
Takeda
H
H
Yonemori
J
J
Hanai
Y
Y
Kikuchi
N
N
Takasugi
D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009365:Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid / Q000652:urine
D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid; D006719:Homovanillic Acid