Wilms' Tumor - 5 Stages (nephroblastoma), Prognosis

Conditions & Diseases: Cancers

Kidney Cancer - Wilms' Tumor (nephroblastoma)

Wilms’ Tumor Stages

An important prognostic predictor for any type of cancer is the clinicopathologic stage. A clinicopathologic stage describes the cancer developmental phase.

The stage system used to classify Wilms' tumors was developed by the National Wilms Tumor Study Group. There are five stages of development:

Stage I: In this stage, the cancer is confined to the kidney and did not grow in the blood vessels near the kidney. This cancer can be successfully removed by surgery, and the 4-year survival rate is around 96 percent for favorable tumors and 93 percent for unfavorable tumors. Around 42 percent of all Wilms’ tumors are diagnosed in the first stage.

Stage II: In this stage, the cancer undergoes one or several of the following situations:
- The cancer has spread beyond the kidney into nearby fat tissue, and can be successfully removed with surgery.
- The cancer has spread beyond the kidney into the blood vessels near the kidney.

Around 22 percent of all Wilms’ tumors are diagnosed in the second stage. The 4-years survival rate is around 91 percent for favorable tumors and 70 percent for unfavorable tumors.

Stage III: This stage refers to Wilms’ tumors that have not been completely removed by surgery, and is confined to the abdominal cavity. In this stage, the cancer can undergo one or several of the following situations:
- The cancer has spread to lymph nodes from the abdominal or pelvis cavity, but did not affect the lymph nodes within the chest cavity.
- The cancerous cells are present on the edge of the tissue removed by surgery.
- The cancer “spilled” into the abdominal cavity either before, or during surgery, and is not confined to the area next to the kidneys.
- The cancer has invaded adjacent vital structures which makes it difficult to be removed completely.
- Deposits of tumors are found along the lining of the abdominal cavity.

Around 22 percent of all Wilms' tumors are diagnosed in the third stage. The 4-year survival rate is around 91 percent for favorable tumors and 56 percent for unfavorable tumors.

Stage IV: In this stage, the cancer has entered the blood stream and affected other organs such as the liver, lungs, bones, or lymph nodes located far away from the kidney. Around 9 percent of all Wilms’ tumors are diagnosed in the fourth stage. The 4-year survival rate is around 81 percent for favorable tumors and 17 percent for unfavorable tumors.

Stage V: In this stage, the cancer is present in both kidneys. Around 5 percent of all Wilms’ tumors are diagnosed in the fifth stage. The 4-year survival rate is around 82 percent for favorable tumors, but there are not survivor figures available for the unfavorable tumors.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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Page Last Modified:
10/13/2010