Abstract
There have been a variety of staging systems and their modifications to classify the extent of neuroblastoma, and different criteria have been used to determine the response to therapy. These differences have brought us much difficulties to compare the results of clinical trials and basic researches performed in different groups or in different countries. In Japan, the staging system of the pediatric solid tumors was established by the Committee on the Tumor Registration of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Surgeons and currently used as a sole nation-wide system. Its staging for neuroblastoma has a close similarity to Evans' staging system. In 1986, a meeting was held to establish an international criteria for neuroblastoma diagnosis, staging and response to treatment (INSS and INRC) which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 1988. The criteria represent an international consensus of essentially every major pediatric oncology group or organizations in the United States, Europe and Japan. The criteria were widely accepted in the world and have become absolutely essential for presenting papers in scientific meetings and publication. This paper was written for a better understanding and further spreading of INSS in Japan and with a hope for INSS to being adopted for the Tumor Registry in Japan.
