An experimental drug derived from vitamin A may be useful in fighting neuroblastoma when other chemotherapy drug fails. Neuroblastomas are highly malignant tumors that arise in nervous system tissue and are usually diagnosed in infants or young children.

The tumors usually spread rapidly to the lymph nodes, liver, lung and bone. The drug, known as fenretinide or 4-HPR, induced laboratory-grown neuroblastoma cells to undergo apoptosis, a cell suicide program. The drug was able to kill cancer cells even in low-oxygen conditions, which often reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.

Past studies in laboratory-grown cells have suggested that fenretinide may be effective against cancers of the colon, rectum, head and neck, breast, prostate, lung and ovary. However, the level of the drug needed to kill cells has not yet been tested in humans. The drug appears to kill cells by increasing levels of ceramide, a known tumor-killing molecule that is difficult to produce with relatively nontoxic doses of chemotherapy drugs.