Neuroblastoma is a complex disease with many contradictions and challenges. It is, by and large, a cancer of babies and preschool children, but it does occur, albeit increasingly rarely, in older children, adolescents and young adults. The prognosis is very variable, with outcome related to age, stage and molecular pathology. Neuroblastoma may behave in an almost benign way, with spontaneous regression in some infants, but the majority of older patients have high-risk disease, which is usually fatal, despite best current treatments. As a rare disease, international collaboration is essential to run clinical trials of adequate statistical power to answer important questions in a reasonable time frame. High-risk disease requires multimodality therapy including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy as well as biological and immunological treatments for optimal outcomes. Innovative treatment approaches, sometimes associated with appreciable toxicity, offer hope for the future but, despite parental wishes, cannot be generally implemented without adequate assessment in clinical trials.

Clinically relevant hypertension following (131)I-mIBG therapy affected less than 5% of administrations, but was more common in those patients with preexisting hypertension. As hypertensive episodes may occur many hours after treatment, close monitoring of BP needs to be continued for at least 48 h after administration of (131)I-mIBG.

Convergence science involves the trans-disciplinary integration of a diverse array of usually siloed fields for novel research and development. These fields include computer science, physics, engineering, medicine, chemistry and biology; synergy between government, academia and industry is also integral. Convergence is hoped to foster mutual learning, deep collaboration, novel worldviews and paradigms, as well as a trans-disciplinary language and knowledge integration to solve realworld problems. Convergence medicine involves embedding the philosophy of convergence science into the clinical health care setting by closer integration of scientists, clinicians and industry, as well as enhanced education of medical professionals. While some examples of convergence medicine are already upon us, there is a need to further articulate and strengthen this field. Convergence approaches to medicine are essential given the complexity, poly-systemic nature and widespread implications of many medical problems are ill suited to single silo approaches. In this review, we outline why convergence science approaches should be enhanced in clinical practice and medical education. We review strategies for initiative and organization development, as well as educational frameworks.