Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
A Neonatal Intravenous Transplant Model for Assessment of Early-Life Immune Activities Against Cancer Cells
Published on: June 26, 2026
[Renal tumors in infants aged less than 1 year]
J Balaguer Guill1, J Maria Fernández Navarro, A Cañete Nieto
1Unidad de Oncología Pediátrica, Hospital Universitario La Fe, Valencia, España. jubagui@wanadoo.es
Insights
Mesoblastic nephroma (MN) was more common than Wilms' tumor (WT) in infants under 6 months. Surgery is the primary treatment for these pediatric kidney tumors due to poor tolerance to chemotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Nephrology
- Tumor Biology
Context:
- Primary renal tumors in infants are rare but require specific diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
- Understanding the epidemiology and characteristics of these tumors is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes.
Purpose:
- To determine the incidence, clinical features, histopathology, treatment, and outcomes of primary renal tumors in infants.
- To compare the frequency of different renal tumor types in neonates and infants.
Summary:
- A retrospective review of 137 pediatric renal tumors identified 25 (18.2%) in infants under 1 year.
- Mesoblastic nephroma (MN) and Wilms' tumor (WT) were the most common, with MN more frequent in those under 6 months.
- Survival rates at 5 years were 67% for WT and 89% for MN; surgery is the recommended first-line treatment.
Impact:
- This study highlights the distinct tumor profiles in very young infants, emphasizing the need for tailored treatment strategies.
- Findings support surgical management as the primary approach for infant renal tumors, considering their limited chemosensitivity and tolerance to chemotherapy.
Objective:
To determine the frequency and distribution of primary renal tumors diagnosed in a pediatric oncology unit in children younger than 1 year and identify their clinical and histopathological characteristics, the treatment used, and outcomes.
Material And Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of infants with primary tumors of the kidney diagnosed between January 1972 and February 2003.
Results:
A total of 137 tumors were diagnosed in our unit during the period studied. Of these, 25 (18.2 %) occurred in infants aged less than 1 year. There were 17 boys and 8 girls. The most prevalent tumor in this age group was Wilms' tumor (WT) in 15 patients, followed by mesoblastic nephroma (MN) in 9 patients and rhabdoid tumor in 1 patient. The mean age at diagnosis of WT was 4.8 months (range: 1 day-11 months), with a median of 5.03 months. The median age at diagnosis of MN was 1 day (range: 1 day-3 months). Presenting symptoms consisted of abdominal mass in 20 patients, hematuria in 4 patients and intestinal pseudo-occlusion (MN) in 1 patient. High blood pressure was found in 12 of the 25 patients. Among the 15 WT, 9 were stage I, 1 was stage II, one was stage III, 2 were stage IV, and 1 was stage V. One patient died before surgery. Overall survival at 5 years was 0.67 (SE 0.12) for WT and 0.89 (SE 0.1) for MN, respectively, with a mean follow-up of 290 months.
Conclusions:
MN was more frequent than WT in infants aged less than 6 months. The first-line therapy in these patients is surgery since this type of tumor shows little chemosensitivity and chemotherapy is poorly tolerated in infants.
