The p73 gene is a p53 homologue which induces apoptosis and inhibits cell 
proliferation. Although p73 maps at 1p36.3 and is frequently deleted in 
neuroblastoma (NB), it does not act as a classic oncosuppressor gene. In 
developing sympathetic neurons of mice, p73 is predominantly expressed as a 
truncated anti-apoptotic isoform (DeltaNp73), which antagonizes both p53 and the 
full-length p73 protein (TAp73). This suggests that p73 may be part of a complex 
tumor-control mechanism. To determine the role of DeltaNp73 in NB we analyzed 
the pattern of expression of this gene in vivo and evaluated the prognostic 
significance of its expression. Our results indicate that DeltaNp73 expression 
is associated with reduced apoptosis in a NB tumor tissue. Expression of this 
variant in NB patients significantly correlates with age at diagnosis and VMA 
urinary excretion. Moreover it is strongly associated with reduced survival 
(HR=7.93; P<0.001) and progression-free survival (HR=5.3; P<0.001) and its role 
in predicting a poorer outcome is independent from age, primary tumor site, 
stage and MYCN amplification (OS: HR=5.24, P=0.012; PFS: HR=4.36, P=0.005). In 
conclusion our data seem to indicate that DeltaNp73 is a crucial gene in 
neuroblastoma pathogenesis.