Wilms' tumour in adults: a report of three cases.

ABSTRACT

Wilms' tumour is the most common pediatric renal neoplasm. Its occurrence in adults is rare, less than 1% of all nephroblastomas have been reported after the age of 15 years of age. We report 3 cases of Wilms' tumour in adults, their clinico-pathological profile and review the literature including the cases reported from India. Patients were young adults, their age ranging from 25 to 32 years. The largest tumour dimension was between 11 cm to 17 cm. Two cases were blastema predominant while the third case had typical triphasic histology. All cases were stage II (National Wilms' Tumour Study), favourable histology. Although Wilms' tumour in adults is morphologically similar to its childhood counterpart, it often responds poorly to the combination chemotherapy. The criteria for its diagnosis are strict and should be adhered to for its correct identification.