Eflornithine for treating neuroblastoma

Eflornithine is in clinical development for the maintenance treatment of patients with high risk neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer which most often affects children under the age of 5 years but can also affect adults in rare instances. It develops in the nervous system from the uncontrolled growth of specialised nerve cells known as neuroblasts. Neuroblasts originate from foetal development. High risk neuroblastoma refers to a category of patients with neuroblastoma who have disease which has spread to sites beyond the initial tumour site and have too much expression of a gene known as MYCN, which can drive cancer growth. Patients are given maintenance treatment following full treatment or removal of the tumour, to try and stop the cancer coming back.