The present invention is intended to provide a means for judging the malignancy of neuroblastoma and the progress of spontaneous regression thereof. The present invention provides a method for detecting cancer which comprises detecting activation or inactivation of the lysosomal-associated protein multispanning transmembrane 5 (LAPTM5) gene and amplification of the MYCN gene in a specimens to evaluate the malignancy of the specimens and the progress of spontaneous regression.