| FACTS ABOUT WILM'S TUMOR Wilm's Tumor is named for the German doctor (Max Wilms) who first wrote about it in 1899. Wilm's Tumor is the most common type of kidney cancer in children. It occurs most often in the first 5 years of life. It is also more common among African Americans and among girls. It makes up 6% of all childhood cancers. The incidence is 7in one million. Only 5% are bi-lateral or involve both of the kidneys. Between 400 & 500 new cases of Wilms are found each year in this country. The kidney of a 3 year old child weighs less than 2 ounces. The average weight of a newly found Wilm's Tumor is about 1/2 lb. The kidneys main job is to filter extra water, salt, and waste from the blood. What is Wilm's Tumor? Sometimes a mishap occurs as the kidneys grow. Some of the cells that are suppose to become glomeruli and nephrons don't mature. Instead, they stay like the early kidney cells. Bunches of these early kidney cells are still there when the baby is born. Most if the time these cells mature by the time a child is 3 or 4. But these early kidney cells may start to grow out of control and form a jumbled mixture of small cells that don't mature into nephrons and glomeruli. This mass is called a Wilm's Tumor. Once Wilm's Tumor has been found, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread from the kidney to other parts of the body. This is called staging. These are the different stages of Wilm's Tumor: Stage 1-Cancer is only in one kidney and can be completely removed. Stage 2-Cancer has spread to the areas near the kidney, such as to fat or soft tissue, to blood vessels, or renal sinus. The cancer can be completely removed with surgery. Stage 3-Cancer has spread to areas near the kidney, but cannot be completely removed by surgery. Stage 4-Cancer has spread to organs further away from the kidney such as the lungs, liver, bone and brain. Stage 5-Cancer cells found in both kidneys. Wilm's Tumor is treated with the following: surgery (taking out cancer in operation) chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells) radiation therapy (using high dose x-rays or other high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells) Surgically the cancer is removed by one of the following: partial nephrectomy removes the cancer and part of the kidney around the cancer. This is used only in special cases, such as when the other kidney is damaged or has already been removed. simple nephrectomy removes the whole kidney. radical nephrectomy removes the whole kidney with the tissues around it. Histology also plays a part in determining a treatment plan. It can help in determing how the cancerous cells will act. It is how the cancer cells look under a microscope. favorable-has a much better chance for a cure. unfavorable-if the "brain" or the nucleus of cells look to large or deformed. No one knows what causes Wilms Tumor. There are known risk factors for the disease: most of the risk factors can not be controlled. age, race, genetic or hereditary. Wilm's Tumor can be hard to find early. Children may look healthy and seem normal. Signs and symptoms. large lump in belly, swelling or a mass stomach pain fever blood in urine high blood pressure CHILDHOOD CANCER FACTS Cancer causes more deaths during childhood than any other disease. One of every 330 persons in the United States will develop cancer before their 20th birthday. The median age at diagnosis of childhood cancer is 6 years of age. A diagnosis of childhood cancer places the child at risk for their entire lifetime. Every school day, 46 children or two classrooms of students are diagnosed with cancer. Everything now known about curing children of cancer has been learned from research. Every year over 11,000 children are diagnosed with cancer. Each year about 2,300 children die from cancer. |
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