Other childhood kidney tumours

Last medical review:

The following kidney tumours in children are rare.

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma is usually a non-cancerous kidney tumour, but sometimes it can be cancer. Congenital mesoblastic nephroma occurs in the first few months of life. Itʼs treated with surgery and sometimes chemotherapy.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney usually occurs before age 3. Itʼs much more likely than Wilms tumour to spread to other parts of the body, and itʼs also harder to treat. Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney may spread to the lungs, bone, liver and brain. Treatment is similar to treatment for more advanced stages of Wilms tumour. It may include surgery to remove the kidney (called a nephrectomy) along with nearby lymph nodes, followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Rhabdoid tumour of the kidney occurs most often in infants and young children. Itʼs very aggressive and is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. It often spreads to the brain, lungs and soft tissues. There is no standard treatment for rhabdoid tumour. Treatment usually involves chemotherapy, with or without radiation therapy.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common kidney cancer in young people 15 to 19 years old. Treatment usually involves surgery.

Expert review and references

  • Meghan Pike, MD, FRCPC
  • Fernandez CV, Geller JI, Ehrlich PF, et al. Renal tumors. Blaney SM, Adamson PC, Helman LJ (eds.). Pizzo and Pollack's Pediatric Oncology. 8th ed. Wolters Kluwer; 2021: Kindle version, [chapter 24] https://read.amazon.ca/?asin=B08DVWZNVP&language=en-CA.
  • PDQ® Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board. Wilms Tumor and Other Childhood Kidney Tumors Treatment (PDQ®) – Health Professional Version. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2025. https://www.cancer.gov/.
  • Pohl H, Dome JS. Uncommon pediatric genitourinary tumors. Raghavan D, Ahluwalia MS, Blanke CD, et al, eds.. Textbook of Uncommon Cancer. 5th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell; 2017: 78:1138–1151.

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