Wilm's Tumor

Wilm's tumor (also called NEPHROBLASTOMA) is the most common type of kidney cancer affecting children. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs fixed on the back wall of the abdominal cavity. One kidney is to the left and the other to the right of the back bone. The lower rib cage protects the kidneys. The kidneys' main job is to filter the blood and rid the body of excess water, salt, and waste products. To do this, a kidney is made up of millions of special microscopic structures called GLOMERULI. A glomeruli is a small bundle of tiny blood vessels arranged in a ball and surrounded by a capsule. This is where filteration occurs. Each glomeruli acts like a small collander or sieve. It lets water, salt and other tiny particles go through the filter. Larger particles like red and white blood cells and most proteins are too big to pass through glomeruli so they stay in the bloodstream. Each glomeruli is connected to a long wavy tube called a NEPHRON. Filterered blood leaves the glomeruli and enters the nephron which captures and returns any important ingredients back to the circulation. What's left over in the nephron is called urine. Urine leaves the kidney through a long slender tube called the URETER. The ureters connect the kidneys to the bladder where urine is stored until urination.

Wilm's tumor usually grow as a single mass in one kidney, but may sometimes be BILATERAL (found in both kidneys). Most Wilm's tumor are caught only after they have become quite large but fortunately most are found before they metasize (spread beyond the kidney). The average weight of a newly found Wilm's tumor is about a half pound - many times larger than the kidney in which it developed.

Wilm's Tumor Statistics

There are about 28,000 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed each year in the United States. About 5% to 6% of all kidney tumors are Wilm's tumor. It usually occurs in children from infancy to age 8 and are rare in adults. The average age of patients with Wilm's tumor is two to three years. Seventy-five percent of Wilm's tumor occur before age 5. Two to five percent of Wilm's tumor are bilateral (present in both kidneys). The overall five-year survival rate for children with Wilm's tumor is about 93%.

How Wilm's Tumor Is Diagnosed

If there is a reason to suspect your child may have Wilm's tumor; the doctor will use one or more methods to find out if the disease is present.

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