1. Assessing Risk Factors
There are no known prevention strategies for neuroblastoma, since risk factors are genetic in nature and cannot be avoided. Your best bet is to assess your child's risk in cooperation with your pediatrician, especially if you have a history of neuroblastoma in your family.
Heredity is the only consistent, reliable factor that can be used to assess risk. American Cancer Society statistics show that the average age of diagnosis for a child with inherited neuroblastoma is 9 months. However, the disease can also occur spontaneously without heredity, and this cannot be predicted or prevented. Sporadic neuroblastomas tend to develop later than inherited cases.
2. Early Screening
If you have a family history of cancer, particularly this form of cancer, you can start the screening procedure prenatally. Tell your doctor about your family's medical history, and your doctor will examine ultrasound images of the developing fetus to determine if any suspicious growths are present. While prenatal neuroblastoma cases are relatively rare, they do happen. Parents can get a jump on planning treatment if the problem is detected before the child is born. However, the screening process isn't very useful after the child has been born. Statistics show that neuroblastoma screenings are ineffective at finding early signs of the condition and do not contribute to a better overall prognosis. Unfortunately, the only course of action is to wait until the symptoms present themselves--there's no reason to worry about neuroblastoma unless your child shows signs of having it.
3. Is Fortified Flour the Key?
There is some indirect evidence that fortified flour may reduce neuroblastoma rates. In Canada, following a government initiative to ensure that all flour used in the country is fortified with folic acid, neuroblastoma rates dropped dramatically. In the United States, folic acid fortification of grain products has been mandatory since 1998. This evidence suggests that you might be able to reduce your child's risk by ensuring a healthy intake of fortified grains, though definitive proof is lacking.
