A whole-genome scan to identify large-scale chromosomal damage can help doctors choose the best treatment option for children with neuroblastoma, one of the most common types of childhood cancer, finds an international collaboration jointly led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The researchers called for all children diagnosed with neuroblastoma worldwide to have a whole-genome scan as a standard part of their treatment. Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the developing nervous system, is sometimes very treatable but other forms are highly aggressive, making the disease overall one of the leading causes of death from childhood cancer. As intense treatments can carry life-long side-effects, identifying the form is crucial in giving an accurate prognosis and deciding the most appropriate care. Scientists examined the medical records of 8,800 neuroblastoma patients from around the world and found that several large-scale genetic faults were strongly linked to survival rates, and that a whole-genome scan would therefore be more effective at predicting prognosis than tests for individual genetic factors. The study was published online on September 13, 2012 in the British Journal of Cancer. Senior author Professor Andy Pearson, Cancer Research UK professor of paediatric oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research and a paediatric consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Our study has found that every single patient diagnosed with neuroblastoma should have a whole genome assessment. The technology required to carry out these scans has become much more widely available and cheaper over recent years, and we believe most diagnostic labs in developed countries worldwide should have this capacity.Login Or Register To Read Full Story