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Surgery
Source: Wilms Tumor (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 12, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Types of treatment for Wilms tumor / Treatment options
Children with Wilms tumor may have surgery to obtain a biopsy sample or to remove the cancer. There are two types of surgery used to treat Wilms tumors:
Nephrectomy is surgery to remove the whole kidney. This is the most common treatment for Wilms tumor. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed and checked for cancer. If the cancer is in both kidneys and they are not working well, your child may need a kidney transplant. A transplant is surgery to remove the kidney and replace it with one from a donor.
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Partial nephrectomy is the removal of the cancer in the kidney and a small amount of normal tissue around it. Your child may have this surgery if cancer is found in both kidneys or if it is likely to spread to both kidneys. The goal of the surgery is to keep as much of the kidney as possible. A partial nephrectomy is also called renal-sparing surgery.
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After the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, your child may have chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill any cancer cells that are left.
Sometimes, the tumor cannot be removed because:
the tumor is too close to important organs or blood vessels or is growing in important blood vessels (such as the inferior vena cava)
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the tumor is too large to remove
the cancer is in both kidneys, unless the tumors are very small
there is a blood clot in the vessels near the liver
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the cancer has spread to the lungs, and your child has trouble breathing
If the tumor cannot be removed, your child will have a biopsy first. Then, they will receive chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumor to make surgery possible. The goal of this approach is to save as much healthy kidney tissue as possible and reduce problems after surgery. Chemotherapy given before surgery is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice