The results of concentration of care: Surgical outcomes of neuroblastoma in the Netherlands

Introduction. In the Netherlands pediatric oncological care for solid tumours is concentrated in one centre since November 2014. One of the most frequently diagnosed solid non-brain tumours in children is the neuroblastoma. Results of surgical treatment of neuroblastoma since the start of this centralization are presented and compared to a historic cohort. Methods. The new national cohort of neuroblastoma (n = 111) consists of all consecutive patients treated between January 1st, 2015 and April 1st, 2021. The historic neuroblastoma cohort consists of all operated neuroblastoma patients in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2014 (n = 244). Intra-operative complications and surgical outcome were registered. Post-operative complications were divided in short (30 days). The severity of complications was graded using the Clavien Dindo Classification (CDC) system. Results. Intraoperative outcomes showed significant differences in favour of the new cohort with less blood loss (p