Recent findings supports the importance of universal screening and the need for greater clinical work to improve outcomes for the patient in this most common childhood kidney cancer.
Wilms tumor has been successfully cured in the majority of cases following the use of effective chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. However, some patients require multiple surgeries.
There are some cases of the Wilms' tumor which are exceedingly indolent. This indolent cases, which constitute 10 to 15% of all cases, are treated with observation of tumor growth. Surgical removal of the primary tumor is typically indicated in these cases, though it is more common to resect the tumor at the time of secondary removal of the kidney. Patients with this indolent presentation should have close surveillance because metastatic progression may occur even after treatment with the watch-and-wait policy and without the use of cytotoxic chemotherapy. In advanced stage cases where the disease is progressing, resectional treatment is indicated and often the tumor cannot be removed as a primary surgical intervention.
The presenting signs and symptoms of Wilms tumors, in addition to the age of presentation, are significant because the long-term prognosis is dependent on early detection and complete treatment.
The development of an adrenal cortex tumor is determined by a complex mixture of genetic and epigenetic factors. Because the exact mechanisms have yet to be identified, there is no way to prevent or treat this disease before it affects the patient.
If you want to join a trial to see if you are a good candidate for the treatment of a cancer, Power can help you find recent trials tailored to your condition, treatment, or location.
In the clinical trials that we reviewed, patients in the ipilimumab-treated groups had larger tumors, higher pretreatment ESR levels, and more severe symptoms. However, a correlation between tumor size and pretreatment distress was not apparent. Because our patients received a high proportion of their posttreatment distress related to cancer in patients lacking a tumor response, we recommend that patients with tumors receive some pre-treatment distress assessment so that response to therapy does not preclude the patient from considering a full treatment program.
Results from a recent paper show that a low pretreatment serum alpha-feto protein level predicts the development of Wilms tumor in cases of children with primary renal cell carcinoma.
This research demonstrates the need to make further study of the risk of developing a solid tumor in children that have received one or more rounds of chemotherapy for Wilms tumor. This is in particular, because the patients have a higher risk of developing a second solid tumor and leukemia. However, the use of the Wilms tumor antigen (WT1) as biomarker for pediatric patients with solid tumors needs further study. Findings from a recent study reported in this paper may be more helpful for surgeons who choose whether to remove the kidney while the tumor's surgery heals a solid tumor.
Data from a recent study identified a novel oncogene, PNRC, as the primary genetic basis of the familial occurrence of a subset of Wilms tumors.
We have shown that the tumor grows fast, but there is no evidence for enhanced metastatic spread. However, the present data suggests that there is a metastatic organ in which the tumor cell spreads, which suggests that there is some heterogeneity in the growth rate of Wilms tumor.
Wilms tumor is more likely to metastasize at a younger age than cancer of the bladder or testis. This information may be important in treatment planning and will aid in educating the public.