The ganglioside GD2 as a circulating tumor biomarker for neuroblastoma

BACKGROUND: is a ganglioside that is ubiquitously expressed in the plasma membrane of neuroblastoma and is shed into the circulation. PROCEDURE: was measured with a high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay in serum or plasma from 40 children without cancer (controls) and in biobanked samples from 128 (73 high-risk) children with neuroblastic tumors at diagnosis, 56 children with relapsed neuroblastoma, 14 children with high-risk neuroblastoma after treatment, and 8 to 12 children each with 10 other common childhood cancers at diagnosis. RESULTS: concentrations were significantly higher in serum from children with MYCN-amplified tumors (P = 0.0088), high-risk tumors (P < 0.00001), International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) stage 4 tumors (P < 0.00001), and in children who died (P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: will be measured prospectively and longitudinally in children enrolled on a high-risk neuroblastoma treatment trial to assess its ability to measure response to treatment and predict survival.