Congenital Mesoblastic Nephroma: Our Experience in the Last 26 Years

Abstract

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) is the most common type of renal tumor in the neonatal period. It is rare in the general population and usually benign, and the treatment protocol is poorly defined. The aim of the present study is to present a retrospective analysis of the cases of mesoblastic nephroma treated at our centre during the last 26 years. A retrospective study was conducted of 11 patients diagnosed with congenital mesoblastic nephroma between 1st January 1990 and 30th September 2016 at our centre. A review of the patients’ clinical records was carried out, analysing the demographic, clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, survival and follow-up variables. Nine (81.8%) were males; one patient was diagnosed prenatally, 9 patients in the first three months of life, and one patient when he was two years old. The most common presentation was a palpable abdominal mass in 10 patients, 2 had haematuria, 6 of them had arterial hypertension, and one had hypercalcaemia. The pathological findings were: 3 cases classic of classic CMN type, 4 mixed type and 4 cellular type. Regarding the tumor stage, 7 patients were at stage I, 3 were at stage II and 1 was at stage III. In all patients, the treatment of choice was radical nephrectomy, and 3 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Only one patient presented a local recurrence and all of the patients are still alive without any death related to the tumor. CMN is a rare renal tumor but it is considered the most frequent renal tumor in the neonatal period, generally of benign behaviour, but recurrence is possible, and its obstetric and perinatal complications can compromise life.