Esther M van Wezel, Janine Stutterheim, Florentien Vree, Lily Zappeij-Kannegieter, Boris Decarolis, Barbara Hero, Frank Berthold, Roswitha Schumacher-Kuckelkorn, Thorsten Simon, Marta Fiocco, Carlijn Voermans, Max M van Noesel, Huib N Caron, C Ellen van der Schoot, Godelieve A M Tytgat
BACKGROUND: The clinical significance of minimal residual disease (MRD) detected by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) in autologous stem cell grafts in high risk neuroblastoma is still controversial. In this retrospective multicenter study, autologous stem cell grafts of a large cohort were studied using a panel of RNA markers. PROCEDURE: From 104 patients with high risk neuroblastoma, who received autologous stem cell transplantation as first line treatment, 66 peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) and 38 CD34+ selected grafts were retrospectively collected at 2 Dutch and 12 German centers between 1997 and 2010...
August 2015: Pediatric Blood & Cancer