What is Wilms tumor?
Wilms tumor is a type of cancer in which a tumor grows on a kidney. It happens most often in children younger than 5.
-
Doctors don’t know what causes Wilms tumor, but children who have certain health problems at birth are more likely to get it
-
Children with Wilms tumor have a lump in their belly and may throw up and have belly pain, fever, poor appetite, and upset stomach
-
Wilms tumor usually affects one kidney, but it can affect both
-
Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy, and sometimes radiation therapy
What causes Wilms tumor?
What are the symptoms of Wilms tumor?
How can doctors tell if my child has Wilms tumor?
How do doctors treat Wilms tumor?
To treat Wilms tumor, doctors will:
-
Do surgery to remove the kidney that has the tumor
-
During surgery, check the other kidney for cancer
-
After surgery, treat the child with chemotherapy
-
If the cancer has spread, do radiation therapy
In rare cases where a tumor is very large or is in both kidneys, doctors will use chemotherapy to shrink the tumor or tumors before doing surgery to remove them.
