A malignant tumour in the kidneys in young children, usually under the age of 10, leading to swelling of the abdomen. It is treated by removal of the affected kidney.
A rapidly developing, malignant tumor of the kidney occurring in children with deletion of chromosomes 11 and 16; also called Wilms tumor.
A malignant tumor of the kidney found in children. It is rare over the age of eight years and the most obvious symptom is an abdominal swelling. Treatment is by nephrectomy followed by radiotherapy and cytotoxic drugs. Considerable improvement in the results of treatment has occurred in recent years since the use of cytotoxic drugs as a routine.
Nephroblastoma, or Wilm’s tumour, is the commonest kidney tumour in infancy. It is a malignant tumour, which occurs in around 1 per 10,000 live births. The survival rate with modern treatment (removal of the kidney followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy) is now around 85—90 per cent.