2.2 Statistical analysis
Survival was determined from the beginning of induction chemotherapy by the Kaplan-Meier method. An event was defined as abandonment, relapse, or death from any cause. Patients who were lost to follow up after completion of therapy were censored at the point of the last contact. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS statistical package v23.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). P-value was two-sided, and a value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results
During the study period of 7½ years, 184 new patients with neuroblastoma were diagnosed. The risk stratification was available for 150 (82%) patients. The disease was stratified as high-risk: 105 (70%), intermediate-risk: 17 (11%), low-risk: 20 (13%), or as very low-risk: 8 (5%). Parents/guardians of 51 (48%) children with high-risk disease did not opt for curative therapy. The reasons for refusal included a) financial constraints, b) dissuaded by the poor prognosis, and, c) inability to reside in the vicinity of the hospital for the duration of the lengthy therapy. Twenty-six (25%) patients were treated with ASCT, results of which have been reported earlier.6Twenty-eight (27%) patients were treated on a non-ASCT protocol with TVD consolidation. The management and survival of the 28 patients who received non-ASCT based therapy are detailed in this manuscript. The patient characteristics are listed in Table 2.