title: Single nucleotide polymorphism array analysis to predict clinical outcome in neuroblastoma patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neuroblastoma (NB) is a heterogeneous tumor and demonstrates favorable or unfavorable outcomes. In Japan, a nationwide NB mass screening (MS) had been performed on 6-month-old infants for approximately 20 years, which might have detected almost all NB including regressing/maturing tumors. To clarify the heterogeneity of this tumor, we examined genetic alterations in the representative cases using genomewide microarrays.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genomic DNA was extracted from 198 NB tissue samples and paired blood samples including 76 MS-detected cases and analyzed by single nucleotide polymorphism arrays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The single nucleotide polymorphism array classified the genetic aberrations into 4 types: whole gain/loss type, partial gain/loss type, MYCN-amplified type, and silent type. Most MS-detecting cases belonged to the whole gain/loss type, whereas unfavorable cases who died of disease showed partial gain/loss, MYCN-amplified, or silent types.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genomewide genetic analysis is useful to predict the outcome of patients. Although the cases whose tumors showed whole gain/loss may respond well to contemporary therapy, sparing intensive surgery, current therapeutic strategy may be insufficient for the subgroups with partial gain/loss, MYCN-amplified, or silent type. Validation of these results would provide new tools to predict clinical outcome of children with NB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan. eiso@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Eiso
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hiyama
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaoka
authors.forename: Arata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamimatsuse
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Onitake
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiyama
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
authors.forename: Taijiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sueda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008403:Mass Screening; D009423:Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome