Abstract

Rance, in 1814, apparently was the first to recognize renal tumors of infancy, called nephroblastoma, as a separate entity; Max Wilms, in 1899, further characterized this tumor composed of primitive cells and structures that has become associated with his name. Other more descriptive terms commonly used include mixed tumor of the kidney and embryoma of the kidney. Wilms’ tumor (WT) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the urinary tract in children and is responsible for 8% of all solid tumors in children. This tumor comprises more than 80% of genitourinary cancers in children younger than 15 years (Young, 1978). WT occurs in approximately 1/10,000 children between 1 and 6 years of age. In about 75% of cases the diagnosis is made in children between 1 and 5 years of age with a peak incidence between 3 and 4 years. The male-to-female ratio is almost equal. Occasionally the tumor occurs in adults. Familial cases are rare and found in about 1% of patients (Olsen, 1970). WT may vary considerably in their histopathological pattern and composition, displaying various variants. Nevertheless, the pattern of variation in morphology is almost uniform worldwide, with little geographic variation (Innes, 1972). At diagnosis, the median age was 36.5 months for males and 42.5 months for females with unilateral disease. Bilateral, however disease was noted to become manifest earlier at median ages of 23.5 and 30.5 months, respectively (Breslow, 1982; 1988).

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R.J.M. Nijman (Rien) , Th.H. van der Kwast (Theo)
Erasmus University Rotterdam
The financial support of the Urologic Research Foundation (SUWO) Rotterdam, the Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Urologic Research Foundation (STUG) Groningen, and of Abbott, Novartis and Pfizer for the publication of this thesis is gratefully acknowledged.
hdl.handle.net/1765/51249
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Ghanem, M. (2003, November 12). Prognostic Markers in Nephroblastoma Markers in Nephroblastoma
(Wilms’ Tumor). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/51249