Genetic Analysis of Wilms' Tumor or Nephroblastoma Dissertation or Thesis by eddievedder

This paper analyzes past and current findings of genetic causes and components of Wilms' tumor, also called nephroblastoma. The paper explains that Wilms' tumor is a kidney cancer that is thought to arise from immature cells that normally regress by birth but that occasionally persist into childhood; it is also the fourth most common type of childhood cancer. The paper points out that Wilms' tumor is historically important because it was one of the first malignancies to be treated with a combination of treatments, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Citing biological studies of Wilms' tumor that laid a foundation for our understanding of how normal cells convert to cancer cells, the paper presents additional, genetic evidence that greatly adds to the understanding of how this cancer occurs. The paper concludes by noting that while While much effort has been expended on pursuing a transcriptional repressor function for WT1, it now seems that transcriptional activation is much more likely to be physiologically relevant.