21 Nov Neuroblstoma: the Childhood Cancer That Affects 40 Australian Families Each Year

New hope in Neuroblastoma research: toward safer, more effective treatments for children.

Few things are as heart-wrenching for a family as learning that their young child has cancer, especially one as rare and aggressive as neuroblastoma. Often appearing in infancy, this devastating cancer upends what should be a time of joy and replaces it with an urgent fight for survival.

Now, scientists at the University of South Australia are stepping up to give families new hope. Researchers are analysing the root causes of neuroblastoma to design treatments that are not only more effective but also gentler for young patients.

Neuroblastoma arises from immature nerve cells within the sympathetic nervous system, the body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ centre. These cells, called neuroblasts, normally develop early in life. However, in neuroblastoma, these cells fail to mature correctly and instead form cancerous tumours. What triggers this malfunction is still unknown, and no environmental factors have been identified.

In Australia alone, around 40 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year. Despite accounting for only 7% of all childhood cancer cases, neuroblastoma is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under five.

PhD researcher Aayushi Notra from UniSA is delving into neuroblastoma at a cellular level. Her goal is to pinpoint the specific reasons that immature nerve cells go awry, resulting in cancer rather than healthy development.

“We understand that neuroblastomas originate from interruptions in the development of embryonic pathways, but we still don’t know exactly why this happens,” Notra explains. “I’m using advanced single-cell data to model healthy and unhealthy cell behaviours. By doing this, I hope to find what specifically disrupts normal cell growth and to ultimately contribute to new treatment methods.”

Today’s treatments—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation—carry severe, lifelong side effects, including hearing loss, psychological impacts, growth and fertility challenges, and, in some cases, the risk of other cancers.

“Cancer treatment is already hard for an adult. For a child, it’s brutal,” says Notra. “We’re committed to finding solutions that not only fight the cancer but also protect children from these harmful side effects. By understanding the origins of neuroblastoma, we’re moving towards more personalized and gentler therapies—treatments that give children a better quality of life as well as the chance to survive.”