LL Yang, MJ Li, ML Zheng, S Xu, DX Tang, YF Han

Abstract

Wilms' tumour is the most frequent malignant neoplasm of the kidney in children. Multimodal treatment was used in treating this tumour, and it has achieved the best results for any tumour group. We studied all the patients who underwent surgery for unilateral Wilms' tumour at Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine during the 15-year period from January 1992 through December 2006. A total of 92 patients were treated for the unilateral Wilms' tumour during the study period, among whom 11 patients were excluded out of this analysis due to the loss of first follow-up after discharge from the hospital. The overall survival of the 81 patients was 76.6%. Cox analysis revealed that anaplastic histology, stage III and without preoperative treatment are risk factors for Wilms' tumour. Pre-operative treatment plays an important role in the treatment of Wilms' tumour and it will lead to better outcome for the patients. Treatment for Wilms' tumour with anaplastic histology and tumour recurrence remains a big challenge in China. The overall survival is still lower than that in developed countries and multi-modality treatment should be optimised for Wilms' tumour patients in China.