Principles of Wilms' tumor biology

The last few years have provided dramatic breakthroughs in understanding th e genetic factors involved in Wilms' tumorigenesis and normal kidney develo pment. The implications of these findings for the clinical management of ch ildren with Wilms' tumor are only now becoming apparent. Over 80% of patien ts with Wilms' tumor can be cured using contemporary multimodality therapy. As a consequence, the current NWTSG is attempting to intensify treatment f or patients with poor prognostic features while decreasing therapy, and the reby adverse late effects, for patients with favorable prognosticators.