The short answer
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in immature nerve cells and is most often found in infants and young children. It usually begins in the adrenal glands or nerve tissue near the spine. Treatment depends on the child's risk group.
Neuroblastoma forms in immature (developing) nerve cells called neuroblasts.
It most often begins in infancy and is usually diagnosed between the first month of life and age 5.
It often starts in the adrenal glands but can begin in nerve tissue near the spine, chest, or abdomen.
Children are placed in low-, intermediate-, or high-risk groups that guide treatment.
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This page is for parents of a child with neuroblastoma. It covers where it starts, signs to watch for, risk groups, and treatment.
The simple version
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in very early nerve cells left over from a baby's development. It most often begins in infancy. It is usually found between the first month of life and age 5. It frequently begins in the adrenal glands near the kidneys.
Where it starts
Neuroblastoma most often begins in the adrenal glands. It can also start in nerve tissue along the spine, in the chest, neck, or belly. Because of that, symptoms vary a lot depending on where the tumor sits.
Signs parents notice
Signs depend on where the tumor is. NCI lists these as reasons to have a child checked:
- A lump in the belly, neck, or chest.
- Bone pain.
- Bulging eyes, or dark circles around the eyes.
- Weakness or trouble moving part of the body.
- A swollen belly with trouble breathing, in babies.
- Bruising or bleeding more easily than usual.
Risk groups
Doctors sort neuroblastoma into low-, intermediate-, or high-risk groups. They use the child's age, the tumor's biology, and how far it has spread. The risk group is the main thing that guides treatment.
How it is treated
Some low-risk tumors are simply watched. In some babies up to 6 months old, neuroblastoma goes away without treatment. Doctors call that spontaneous regression, and the child is watched closely in case signs appear. Other tumors are removed with surgery.
Intermediate- and high-risk disease may need more. Options include chemotherapy, radiation, high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue, iodine 131-MIBG therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Your child's team will explain the plan for their risk group. Low-risk and intermediate-risk neuroblastoma have a good chance of being cured. High-risk disease is harder to treat.
When to get help sooner
During treatment, ask the team for their own "call now" list. In general:
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if your child has trouble breathing, is hard to wake or suddenly confused, has a seizure, or is bleeding and it does not stop with pressure. Do the same if your child vomits blood or coffee-ground material, or has black or tarry stool. Do not drive yourself.
- Call the oncology team right away, day or night, if your child is having chemotherapy and has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher. CDC warns that a fever during chemotherapy is a medical emergency. If you cannot get through quickly, take your child to an emergency department and tell the desk staff the child is having chemotherapy.
- Call the oncology team right away, day or night, if your child is having chemotherapy and has chills, a sore throat, mouth sores, pain or burning when passing urine, or redness, swelling, or pus where a central line enters the skin (CDC). Do this even if the temperature is normal. A normal temperature is not permission to wait.
- Call the care team right away if your child has new bruising or bleeding, new weakness or trouble moving a leg or arm, or is drinking much less than usual. NCI lists easy bruising or bleeding and weakness as signs to have checked.
- Call the care team within a day or two if your child has new or worsening bone pain or a belly that looks more swollen.
Families just starting can see Newly Diagnosed With Neuroblastoma. It has first-week questions about risk group, staging tests, and treatment planning.
Sources
Common questions
What is neuroblastoma?
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in immature nerve cells, called neuroblasts, that are left over from a baby's development. It is most common in infants and young children.
Where does it start?
It most often begins in the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys, but it can start in nerve tissue near the spine, in the chest, neck, or abdomen.
Who gets it?
NCI says it most often begins in infancy. It is usually diagnosed between the first month of life and age 5.
How is it treated?
Treatment depends on the risk group. Some low-risk tumors are watched closely or removed with surgery, while higher-risk disease may need chemotherapy and other treatments.
What is a risk group?
Doctors combine the child's age, the tumor's features, and how far it has spread to sort neuroblastoma into low, intermediate, or high risk, which guides how intense treatment should be.
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Last updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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