Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in children is rare, accounting for approximately 1.9-6% of all pediatric renal malignancies. The aim of this study was to transmit our experience in the treatment of RCC in Polish children.
Methods: Clinical data from 21 children (6.3-18 years old) with RCC treated between 1992 and 2009 at Polish pediatric oncological centers were analyzed.
Results: In 2 patients, RCC developed as a second malignancy after neuroblastoma or astrocytoma fibrillare, respectively. In 6 patients, initial diagnoses based on imaging studies were unilateral Wilms' tumor, leading to preoperative chemotherapy. The remaining patients underwent surgery at the beginning of treatment. According to the AJCC/TNM staging system, 14 patients had stage I, 5-II, 1-III, and 1-IV. Nephrectomy was performed in 19 patients, heminephrectomy in one, and biopsy in another. Histopathological diagnoses were clear-cell RCC (18 patients), papillary RCC (2 patients), and chromophobe RCC (1 patient). 10 patients were treated with chemotherapy, with or without IL-2, INFα, and antiangiogenic agents. 2 patients died due to disease progression.
Conclusions: RCC in children is mostly operable at diagnosis, resulting in good prognosis. The role of adjuvant chemo- and immunotherapies is unclear. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proven for children with Wilms' tumors is ineffective, but the delay in adequate therapy did not worsen the outcome if complete nephrectomy is done subsequently.
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