Wilms Tumor

• Wilms tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is a rare kidney cancer that usually occurs in children younger than age 5. It is a fast-growing tumor that appears in embryonal kidney tissues that normally disappear before birth.

• Wilms tumor occurs in about one in 10,000 children in the United States, but is the second most common solid tumor in children and accounts for about 7 percent of all childhood cancers.

• More than 90 percent of all patients survive Wilms, but some are at risk of developing long-term complications as a result of their tumors, treatments or other biological factors.

• Several different types of genetic alteration are known to play a role in the origin of some Wilms tumors but no environmental causes have yet been identified.

Studying Wilms tumor survivors – The Hutchinson Center is home to the statistical center for the National Wilms Tumor Study, a childhood cancer research consortium. The statistical center houses the world’s largest collection of clinical information on Wilms tumor and tracks more than 6,000 survivors from among the nearly 10,000 patients with Wilms tumor.

Through clinical trials, the National Wilms Tumor Study has helped to reduce radiation treatment doses and duration for patients, improved survival rates, minimized the incidence of future health complications, and even reduced the cost of treating Wilms tumor.

The national study continues its research on late effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatment through its 10-year, National Wilms Tumor Late Effects Study led by lead researcher and study statistician, Dr. Norman Breslow.

This research also includes tracking the incidence of secondary tumors that occur after diagnosis of Wilms, congestive heart failure, restrictive pulmonary disease, end-stage renal disease and other medical conditions resulting from the patient’s genetic makeup or treatment. The goal of this extensive follow-up research is to identify the particular treatments and biological risk factors that predispose patients to these late effects and to avoid them when possible. Learn more »

Childhood Cancer Survival Study - The Hutchinson Center is also home to the national Childhood Cancer Survival Study’s Statistics and Data Center, which is tracking the long-tem effects of several forms of children’s cancer, including Wilms Tumor.

Identifying complications – Through the Hutchinson Center’s work with the National Wilms Tumor Study, researchers have documented the adverse long-term complications or “late effects” of chemotherapy and radiation treatment on skeletal and muscle development; the development of secondary tumors at relatively young ages; and, in the case of female patients, poor pregnancy outcomes.