Clinicopathologic characteristics of malignant abdominal tumors in children: 10 years experience

Background: Abdominal tumors are still a diagnostic problem in children. This study was conducted to assess the presentation and types of childhood intra abdominal tumors in children in Shiraz. Materials and Methods: Participants of this historical cohort study consisted of 298 children aged between 1.5 months to 15 years old who were diagnosed with abdominal mass between March 2003 and March 2013. All patients referred to pediatric surgery wards of Namazi hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Data extracted by checklist included patient’s demographic data, type of malignancy, signs and symptoms at the time of presentation and duration of signs and symptoms. Results: The majority of tumors were retroperitoneal followed by intra-peritoneal and pelvic masses. Wilms tumor was the most common tumor constituting 34% of all cases followed by neuroblastoma (24.7%), and non- Hodgkin lymphoma (12.7%). The most common signs and symptoms were abdominal pain (39.5%), abdominal distention (34.2%), palpable mass (27.5%), weight loss (19.4%), fever (16.7%), and vomiting (10.7%). Conclusion: Better understanding of signs and symptoms of abdominal masses can facilitate early diagnosis and proper treatment of malignant abdominal tumors in children.