Wilms' tumor in the adolescent and adult

Rare case of blastemal predominant adult Wilms' tumor with skeletal metastasis case report and brief review of literature

Wilms' tumor (nephroblastoma) is extremely rare in adults, skeletal metastasis being still rarer. The clinical course of adult Wilms' tumor is very aggressive. The present case is a rare blastemal predominant adult Wilms' tumor presenting with skeletal metastasis. We report a case of 19-year-old female presented with severe low backache and colicky left loin pain of 3 months and progressive weakness of 15 days duration. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) of lumbosacral spine was reported as spinal metastasis with right renal mass. The patient underwent right radical nephrectomy and the tumor was histopathologically confirmed as adult Wilms' tumor. In case of adult Wilms' tumor, distant metastasis may be the first presentation and this possibility should be considered when an adult patient presents with flank pain and a renal mass.

Adult Wilms' tumor with calcification untreated for 5 years--a case report

Background

Wilms' tumor is rarely found in adults and there are no established treatment guidelines for such tumors in adults. Whereas calcification is a common finding in neuroblastoma, it is considered uncommon in Wilms' tumor.

Case presentation

We report a case of adult Wilms' tumor with calcification in a 22-year-old man. He had been initially referred to our hospital with a chief complaint of right flank pain 5 years previously, when abdominal computed tomography had revealed focal calcification at the upper pole of the right kidney. Although we planned further assessment, he did not revisit our hospital again until 5 years later, again because of right flank pain. Ultrasound and computed tomography scan revealed a large mass lesion with calcification in the right kidney, invasive to the hepatic lobe. The patient underwent curative right nephrectomy and partial right hepatic lobectomy. Pathological analysis demonstrated a nephroblastoma (Wilms' tumor) with predominant epithelial histology infiltrating the hepatic lobe. The patient has been well without tumor recurrence for 15 months after surgery.

Conclusions

Calcification may be a sign of slow tumor gowth and possibly a favorable prognosis in cases of adult Wilms' tumor.

Wilms' tumour in adults. Review of 10 cases

Nephroblastoma (Wilms' tumour) is very rarely found in adult patients. We report on 10 cases to demonstrate the diagnostic and therapeutic problems. In case of flank pain, large tumour mass, fast tumour growth and young age, the possibility of Wilms' tumour should be taken into consideration even in adult patients. The chances for a successful treatment by primary surgery with adjuvant therapy are favourable for the lower stages I and II. All our patients presenting with tumour stages I and II have survived and have been free of disease for 68 months now. One of the patients with stage III Wilms' tumour died 8 months postoperatively while the other one has been free of disease for 120 months now. In the advanced stage IV no patient survived. In cases of inoperable large tumours in adults, the possibility of primary chemotherapy should be considered under certain circumstances. Rapid tumour regression may confirm the diagnosis and will make feasible a salvage operation in some cases.

Adult Wilms' tumor

Two well-documented cases of Wilms' tumor in adult patients are reported. Surgery remains the treatment of choice in stage I cases with favorable cell differentiation. Adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy or radiation may be necessary in patients beyond stage I or when the cell differentiation is more anaplastic. Actinomycin D is essential and should be included in the chemotherapeutic regimen whenever it is possible.