Current status and future perspectives of wilms tumor treatment in Iran

Wilms tumor (WT) is among the most common pediatric malignancies. In this study, the authors tried to evaluate the adherence to internationally-approved WT treatment protocols in our tertiary medical center in Iran.

In this retrospective study, the medical records of 72 pathologically confirmed WT patients who underwent treatment from April 2014 to February 2020 were evaluated. Demographic characteristics, histologic features of the tumors and metastases, utilized treatments, and survival rates were subsequently investigated.

From the total of 72 patients, 31 (43.1%) and 41 (56.9%) were males and females, respectively. The median age at the time of diagnosis was 44.0 (interquartile range: 18.5, 72.0) months. Among the patients, favorable histology was observed in 68 (94.6%) patients, while 4 (5.4%) patients had unfavorable histology. Regarding chemotherapy, 34/56 (60.7%), 4/56 (7.1%), and 18/56 (32.2%) received adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and combined chemotherapy, respectively. The mean numbers of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy sessions were 9.4±5.6 and 14.5±11.1, respectively. 32/72 (44.4%) of the patients received adjuvant radiotherapy with a mean number of 7.3±3.6 sessions. Overall survival rates were 86% at 1-year, 74% at 3-year, and 62% at 5-year.

Our results suggested that while the demographic characteristics of WT patients in Iran resemble those in other countries, abidance to internationally recommended protocols is relatively low. Moreover, survival rates were rather dismal in our study compared to those from other developing countries, further signifying the need for the development of a nation-specific treatment protocol for WT.