A biochemical analysis was performed on
tumor tissues from 20 patients who presented with thoracic
neuroblastomas. Nine patients were under 1 year of age at the time of diagnosis, and 12 patients had stage A disease. Eighteen of the 20 patients are disease free with a mean follow-up of 5 1/2 years. The
ganglioside composition of the
tumor tissue was investigated, since these cell membrane components have been proposed to play a role in cell to cell interaction and may be altered on cell transformation. In addition, the
ganglioside composition of the central nervous system changes with maturation. Previous studies in children with
neuroblastoma have shown that
tumor tissue containing more complex
gangliosides is associated with a better prognosis.
Neuroblastomas from patients with thoracic primaries were found to contain more complex
gangliosides of the b series (GD1b, GT1b) and fewer
monosialogangliosides, suggesting a more differentiated cellular composition. Tissue from one of the thoracic patients who died lacked GT1b. The absence of this
ganglioside has proven to be an
indicator of a poor prognosis. Four specimens contained no detectable GD2, which is thought to be a specific marker for
neuroblastomas. These data suggest that the improved prognosis seen with thoracic
neuroblastomas is due to a basic
biologic difference within these
tumors, and this finding should be taken into consideration when planning
therapy.