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Wilms tumour

Wilms tumour

1 6.7
A cancer in a young child's kidney that often shows as a lump in the belly
  • noun
  • /wɪlmz ˈtumər/
  • UK
translation icon : tumor de Wilms
  • Treatment of Wilms tumour usually involves surgery and chemotherapy.

Examples

  • Doctors monitor for relapse in children who have recovered from a Wilms tumour.

  • The doctor diagnosed the child with a Wilms tumour.

  • The child was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour after presenting with abdominal swelling.

  • Many children with Wilms tumours respond well to treatment.

  • Doctors diagnosed the child with Wilms tumour after noticing a large abdominal mass.

  • Treatment for Wilms tumour often includes surgery and chemotherapy to eliminate the cancer.

  • Parents were relieved to learn that Wilms tumour is highly treatable when caught early.

Synonyms

Wilms' tumor
vsWilms tumour
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A cancer of the kidney in young children that often causes a belly lump

is the identical medical concept but more often written without the apostrophe
nephroblastoma
vsWilms tumour
  • Specialized
9.9

A cancer in a young child's kidney that often causes blood in the urine or high blood pressure

is the same disease but expressed in general clinical language
embryoma of the kidney
vsWilms tumour
  • Specialized
9.3

A cancer in a young child's kidney that often causes high blood pressure, blood in urine, and a belly lump

is the same core diagnosis without stressing the high blood pressure feature

Surface Forms

Wilms tumour singular
Wilms tumours plural
Wilms tumors plural
Wilms tumor singular

Morphology

Wilms + tumor

Knowing 'tumour' lets a learner understand this refers to a type of tumor, but 'Wilms' is an eponymic proper name that does not reveal the organ (kidney) or the pediatric nature of the disease. Because the expression partially signals a category (a tumor) but not the specific medical meaning, it is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Wilms tumour gets its name from Dr Max Wilms, who first wrote about this kind of tumour in the 'kidney' of young children. So the name now means this specific childhood 'kidney' tumour.