Cytogenetic findings in pediatric renal cell carcinoma

Adenocarcinomas of the kidney are rare childhood tumors. Only 30 cases with chromosomal abnormalities have been reported, and neither their karyotypic characteristics nor the molecular mechanisms behind their pathogenesis are clear, except for a special group of papillary tumors characterized by X-chromosome abnormalities. We have cytogenetically analyzed short-term cultured cells from two pediatric renal carcinomas, one papillary, and one chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, revealing the following karyotypes: 58-60,XX,−X,−1,+7,−8,−9,−11,−14,−15,+17,−18,−19,−21,−22 and 36,X,−X,−1,−2,−5,−6,−9,−10,−13,−17,−21/37,idem,+r/36,idem,−14,+1−2r, respectively. The findings indicate that subsets of pediatric renal cell carcinoma show karyotypes that are similar to their adult counterparts.