User:Mr. Ibrahem/Wilms' tumor

Wilms' tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is a type of kidney cancer that typically occurs in children. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, abdominal mass, abdominal pain, or high blood pressure. In about 5% of cases both kidneys are involved. It can spread to the lungs, liver, bone, brain, or lymph nodes. Other complications can include Von Willebrand's disease.

The cause in most cases is unclear, though it is associated with a number of genetic changes. It is rare for a person's parents to be affected. About 10% of cases are associated with other birth defects, such as WAGR syndrome or Drash syndrome. Diagnosis is usually by medical imaging as a biopsy may spread the disease.

Treatment generally involves surgical removal of the kidney and chemotherapy. The lymph nodes around the aorta are generally checked at the time of surgery for spread. In more severe disease radiation therapy may be used. The five year survival is 92% in the United States and 78% in the developing world.

Wilms' tumor occurs in about 1 in 10,000 children less than a year old and 1 in 100,000 children less than 15 years old a year. About 650 cases occur a year in the United States. It is the most common type of kidney cancer in children under 15 years old and the 4th most common childhood cancer. It occurs more commonly in Africans than East Asians. It is named after Max Wilms, the German surgeon who first described it in 1899.