Radioactive therapy takes aim at resistant childhood cancer

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria for NB: * Patients must have the diagnosis of NB in accordance with the International Criteria, i.e., either histopathology (confirmed by the MSKCC Department of Pathology) or BM involvement plus elevated urinary catecholamines. * Must have a history of tumor progression or recurrence or failure to achieve complete response with standard therapy. * Patients must have MIBG-avid NB and evaluable disease on MIBG scan at time of enrollment on protocol * Prior Therapy: At least 2 weeks should have elapsed since any biologic therapy. Three weeks should have elapsed since last dose of chemotherapy. * Age \>1 year * Determination that radiation safety restrictions during therapy period can be implemented. * Stem cells: Patients for high does must have an autologous hematopoietic stem cell product cryopreserved and available for re-infusion after MIBG treatment. Patients for low dose do not require cryopreserved autologous hematopoietic stem cell product available. The minimum dose for peripheral blood stem cells is 2 X106 CD34+ cells/kg. * Minimum life expectancy of eight weeks * Signed informed consent indicating awareness of the investigational nature of this program. Inclusion criteria for malignant CCT: * Patients must have the diagnosis of malignant CCT i.e. malignant pheochromocytoma or malignant paraganglioma * Patients must have MIBG-avid malignant CCT and evaluable disease on MIBG scan at time of enrollment on protocol * Prior Therapy: At least 2 weeks should have elapsed since any biologic therapy. Three weeks should have elapsed since last dose of chemotherapy. * Age between 1 and 21 years and able to cooperate with radiation safety restrictions during therapy period * Stem cells: Patients must have an autologous hematopoietic stem cell product cryopreserved and available for re-infusion after MIBG treatment. The minimum dose for peripheral blood stem cells is 2 X106 CD34+ cells/kg. * Minimum life expectancy of eight weeks. * Signed informed consent indicating awareness of the investigational nature of this program. Exclusion Criteria: * Severe major organ toxicity. Specifically, renal, cardiac, hepatic, pulmonary, gastrointestinal and neurologic toxicity should all be grade 2 or less. A grade 3 hearing deficit is acceptable. * Active serious infections not controlled by antibiotics. * Pregnant women are excluded for fear of danger to the fetus. Therefore negative pregnancy test is required for all women of child-bearing age, and appropriate contraception is used during the study period. * Inability or unwillingness to comply with radiation safety procedures or protocol requirements.