Wilms tumor is a cancerous tumor on the kidney.  Also called nephroblastoma, it is the most common form of kidney cancer, although it is totally unrelated to adult kidney cancer. The kidneys are located at the back of the abdominal cavity, to the left and to the right of the backbone. They serve to filter the blood and rid the body of excess water, salt, and waste products.

Causes:

• Smoking

• Obesity 

• Some occupational exposures, such as coke oven workers in steel plants or asbestos in the workplace 

• Some types of radiation treatment, 

• A pain relieving drug

Symptoms:

1.  abdominal mass
2.  fever
3.  nausea
4.  vomiting
5.  swelling of the abdomen 
6.  veins that appear distended or large across the abdomen 
7.  blood in the urine 
8.  weight loss
9.  pain in the abdomen from pressure on other organs near the tumor 
10. decreased appetite and weakness or tiredness 
11. high blood pressure (hypertension) 

Treatments:

1.  Surgery (to remove all or part of the affected kidney and any involved structures) 
biopsy of the tumor (if the tumor is too large or involved in surrounding structures to be removed; a biopsy is also necessary for diagnosis and staging the disease) 

2.  Chemotherapy 
3.  Radiation
4.  Medications (to control pain, hypertension, nausea, and infections) 
blood pressure monitoring (essential when a kidney tumor is present) 
continuous follow-up care (to determine response to treatment, detect recurrent disease, evaluate function of remaining kidney, and manage late effects of treatment)