Childhood tumors

Pediatric solid tumors represent a distinct set of malignancies of embryona l origin whose incidence peaks in the first years of life. Specific genetic anomalies with pathogenic significance, which have helped to define the di agnosis better and to improve the prognosis of children with these tumors, recently have been discovered. Survival of children with solid tumors also has improved significantly because of effective multidisciplinary care, whi ch, in this case, always involves chemotherapy and surgery. These favorable results require that children with these diseases are referred and treated at institutions that have multidisciplinary teams and the infrastructure a nd expertise for caring for these children. Diagnostic and therapeutic prin ciples for the most common childhood solid tumors are discussed in this art icle, with an emphasis on surgical procedures.