Our Kidney Tumors Program offers treatment by some of the world’s most experienced pediatric cancer doctors as well as internationally recognized pediatric subspecialists. We provide comprehensive care for Wilms’ tumor, clear cell sarcoma, rhabdoid tumor of the kidney, congenital mesoblastic nephroma, renal cell carcinoma, and nephroblastomatosis.
About the Center or Program
At Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, your child will receive care from doctors and nurses who are extremely knowledgeable about pediatric kidney cancers.
Our Kidney Tumors Program team includes some of the world’s most experienced pediatric cancer doctors from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as internationally recognized pediatric subspecialists from Boston Children’s Hospital.
- Your child’s core care team will include a pediatric oncologist, surgeon, radiologist, and radiation oncologist who work together to manage your child’s care.
- Our pediatric surgeons are nationally recognized for expertly removing cancerous kidney tumors.
- Our interventional pediatric radiologists have expertise in using minimally invasive radio frequency ablation instead of radiation therapy to kill tumors.
- Our pediatric radiation oncologists are involved in studies of how to avoid radiation therapy when possible, and when radiation is needed, to minimize the dose and field of radiation.
- We are New England’s Phase I referral center for the Children’s Oncology Group, which enables us to offer clinical trials unavailable at other regional centers.
- Your child will have access to long-term treatment and childhood cancer survivor support through Dana-Farber’s David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic.
Conditions treated in the Kidney Tumors Program include:
From diagnosis through treatment and survivorship, our team will be able to answer all of your questions about your child’s care.
Our Treatment Approach
Through Dana-Farber/Boston Children's, children with kidney tumors receive treatment at both Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital.
Our cancer specialists from Dana-Farber work closely with the pediatric experts at Boston Children's Hospital to oversee every aspect of your child's health before, during, and after treatment.
Your child’s treatment team will include:
- pediatric oncologists with expertise in the treatment of kidney tumors
- pediatric surgeons
- pediatric radiologists
- pathologists
- radiotherapists
- social workers
- experienced nursing staff
Members of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Kidney Tumors Program also oversee laboratory and clinical research designed to improve understanding and treatment of childhood kidney tumors.
Because we are the regional Phase I center for the Children's Oncology Group, a collaborative research organization dedicated to improving the treatment of childhood cancers, our center offers treatments unavailable at other regional institutions. We also collaborate with other pediatric centers across the country to offer unique treatment options.
Survivorship and long-term care
Like all patients who were treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation, survivors of childhood kidney tumors may be at risk of developing problems or side effects later in life.
To help patients monitor their overall health after treatment is completed, we encourage children and adolescents to continue long-term care through Dana-Farber's David B. Perini Jr. Quality of Life Clinic. At this clinic, experts assess childhood cancer survivors of all ages for intellectual function, hormonal evaluation and treatment, neurological assessment, and dental evaluation and treatment, among others.
The Treatment Team
Our physicians are focused on family-centered care. From your first visit, you’ll work with a team of professionals who are committed to supporting your family’s needs.
- Elizabeth A. Mullen, MD, Director of the Kidney Tumor Program
Mullen is actively involved in the treatment of pediatric kidney tumors, as well as educating future generations of pediatric oncologists. She has contributed chapters on the treatment of pediatric renal tumors to many of the academic textbooks.. She is also Vice Chair of two of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) clinical trials on the treatment of kidney tumors.
- Thomas Hamilton, MD
Hamilton is a pediatric general surgeon with expertise in neonatal surgery, surgical oncology and thoracic surgery. He also serves as Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine. He holds teaching appointments at both Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.
- Karen J. Marcus, MD
Marcus specializes in pediatric oncology and radiation oncology. She treats children with a wide variety of cancers including brain tumors, sarcomas, neuroblastoma, leukemias, kidney tumors, and Hodgkin lymphoma. She is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and co-chair of Pediatric Oncology Institutional Review Board.
- Nancy Rodig, MD
Rodig is a pediatric nephrologist specializing in kidney transplant. She is also an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
- Robert C. Shamberger, MD
Shamberger is Boston Children's Hospital's Chief of Surgery and has expertise in surgical oncology. He is a professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on the treatment of neuroblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma, Wilms' tumor, and inflammatory bowel disease.
- Stephan D. Voss, MD, PhD
Voss is a staff radiologist and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital. His research focuses on developing new methods for imaging malignant disease, specifically pediatric neuroblastoma. He is an assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School.
- Christopher Weldon, MD, PhD
Weldon is a pediatric general surgeon with expertise in pediatric oncology and surgical critical care. His research focuses on chemotherapy resistance in solid tumors. He is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Clinical Research
Researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Kidney Tumors Program oversee laboratory and clinical research designed to improve understanding and treatment of pediatric kidney tumors. Here are some of the things we’ve been working on:
- Identifying the best treatment for Wilms’ tumor
Major advancements in the treatment of Wilms’ tumor over the last two decades occurred through studies conducted by the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group, of which Boston Children's Hospital is a member. These studies have rigorously compared treatment regimens and have shown that, in some types of Wilms’ tumor, briefer courses of therapy are as effective as longer courses.
- Risk-stratifying treatment of children with bilateral tumors
Traditional treatment for pediatric kidney tumors is a two-step process: Surgeons remove as much of the tumor as possible, then oncologists use chemotherapy to kill remaining cancerous cells. If the tumor is bilateral, appearing in both kidneys, chemotherapy is sometimes also used before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor.
Our researchers are participating in research on the use of interval pathological review throughout treatment to evaluate the best therapeutic approach for bilateral pediatric kidney tumors.
- Searching for markers
Researchers are conducting studies to better understand how to diagnose and treat renal tumors. For example, researchers are pursing basic science research to find out whether kidney tumors emit markers in a child’s urine. If discovered, these markers could be used to screen for early recurrence of relapsed cancers. They may also help clinicians screen types of tumors up front, creating treatments that are personalized to the exact makeup of a child’s tumor.
- Treating rhabdoid tumors
Elizabeth Mullen, MD, director of the Kidney Tumors Program, is involved in a Boston Children’s Hospital’s Oncology Group working group for rhabdoid tumors that reaches across disease groups (brain and spinal tumors, kidney tumors and rare tumors) and disciplines. Although rhabdoid tumors were once thought to be a type of Wilms’ tumor, they are now considered to be a separate category altogether. This national initiative is being led by Susan Chi, MD, from our Pediatric Brain Tumor Program and Carlos Rodrieguez-Galindo, MD, from our Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Program. Charles Roberts, MD, PhD is Boston Children’s Hospital’s lead investigator in basic science research in the area of rhabdoid tumors.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new interventions. There are different types of cancer clinical trials, such as prevention trials, early detection trials, and treatment trials.
The Kidney Tumors Program participates in several multi-center national clinical trials.
Contact Us
Referring physicians: 617-632-5508 or 1-888-Pedi-Onc (733-4662)
New patients and second opinions
We know that a kidney cancer diagnosis is extremely difficult to cope with. We are available to offer a consultation or second opinion for your child.
If your child has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, please contact our program at 888-PEDI-ONC (888-733-4662).
To help us conduct a precise evaluation, it’s important we receive a full summary of your child's initial diagnosis. This includes any laboratory or pathology reports, any x-ray, radiographic or MRI images, as well as a list of any previous treatments your child may have received.
Please have as much of the following information as possible when you call or be prepared to bring it with you to your appointment:
Patient summary
- your child’s date of birth
- your address
- parent or guardian contact information
- insurance information
Complete clinical summary
- physician's name and contact information
- diagnosis, or working diagnosis, and list of presenting symptoms
- MRI/CAT scan films
- pathology slides and reports
- operative note, if surgery was performed
- radiation therapeutic summary, if your child had radiation
- comprehensive list of previous chemotherapeutic agents, with dates and doses, if your child had chemotherapy
Mailing addresses
Boston Children's Hospital
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215