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Wilms tumor - Overview

Alternative Names

Nephroblastoma; Kidney tumor

Definition of Wilms tumor:

Wilms tumor is a type of kidney cancer that occurs in children.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Wilms tumor is the most common form of childhood kidney cancer. The exact cause of this tumor in most children is unknown.

A missing iris of the eye (aniridia) is a birth defect that is sometimes associated with Wilms tumor. Other birth defects linked to this type of kidney cancer include certain urinary tract problems and enlargement of one side of the body, a condition called hemihypertrophy.

It is more common among some siblings and twins, which suggests a possible genetic cause.

The disease occurs in about 1 out of 200,000 to 250,000 children. It usually strikes when a child is about 3 years old. It rarely develops after age 8.

Kidney anatomy

Wilms tumor

Reviewed last on: 6/7/2010
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kim S, Chung DH. Pediatric solid malignancies: neuroblastoma and Wilms' tumor. Surg Clin North Am. 2006;86(2):469-487.

Jaffe N, Huff V. Neoplasms of the kidney. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 499.

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