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Renal cell carcinoma in children: the Detroit experience
A L Freedman1, T S Vates, T Stewart
1Department of Pediatric Urology, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit 48201, USA.
Purpose:
We analyzed the presentation, treatment and survival of 6 children with renal cell carcinoma.
Materials And Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the pathological and hospital records of 6 children diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma at Children's Hospital of Michigan (5) and Henry Ford Hospital (1) from 1980 to 1995.
Results:
The most common presenting complaints were flank pain (50%) and a palpable abdominal mass (50%), while gross hematuria was present in only 1 patient (16%). No patient had the classic triad of flank pain, hematuria and palpable mass. Only 1 patient had localized disease (stage II), while 5 of the 6 presented with stage III or IV disease. While followup is limited, all patients with stage III disease are without evidence of recurrence at a mean 38.5 months and 1 of 2 with stage IV disease is without evidence of disease at 22 months.
Conclusions:
Although renal cell carcinoma in childhood often presents at an advanced stage, the prognosis for those with isolated regional lymph node involvement appears to be encouraging.