Wilms' tumor in adolescence

Abstract

Two cases of Wilms' tumor in adolescent males are presented. The clinical and radiographic findings were unusual and both presented atypical gross and microscopic features that could be correlated with the radiographic findings. Histologic examination of both tumors showed evidence of tubular and glomerular maturation, a feature usually associated with Wilms' tumors of early infancy. One of the tumors contained a large amount of cartilage and bone. The other was grossly cystic and incorporated some features of multilocular cystadenoma, a benign metanephric tumor.

Renal tumors in the second decade of life: results from the California Cancer Registry

“…Because of their rarity in the teenagers, relatively little has been reported about renal tumors in patients aged 11 to 20 years old. Most reports of renal tumors in adolescents are in the form of case reports or small series [1][2][3]. Although there are other rare tumors described in this patient population, most tumors are either Wilms' or RCC [1].…”

Wilms tumors in adults

“…Olsen [4] even suggested that most reported adult Wilms tumors were in fact anaplastic renal cell carcinomas. Merten [5] suggested that ossification, cartilage formation, and calcification in Wilms tumors may suggest osteogenic sarcoma in the kidneys which has been reported in patients after the sixth decade [6].…”

“…However, most of the recently reported cases were in adolescence or early adulthood. Thus Bard [16] reported a case of a 24-year-old, Shah 1171 reported three cases at ages 15, 16, and 17 years, and Merten [5] reported two cases at age 15. We report here a case of Wilms tumor in a man.…”

Erythrocytosis and Wilms' Tumour

“…Wilms' tumour occurs most frequently during the first decade of life; in adults this tumour is relatively rare (Klapproth 1959, Merten 1976. Only a few cases of Wilms' tumour in association with erythrocytosis and normal leucocyte and platelet counts have been reported, although high erythropoietin levels are fairly common in patients with Wilms' tumour.…”