Immunohistochemical expression of neural cell adhesion molecule in Wilms tumors, nephrogenic rests, and fetal and postnatal renal cortices.

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) has been suggested to be a marker for stem cells and progenitor cells in human fetal kidney and Wilms tumors. In this tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study, we confirmed the expression of NCAM in Wilms tumors, nephrogenic rests, and metanephric mesenchyme and its early derivatives in fetal renal cortex. Neural cell adhesion molecule expression was noted in both favorable-histology and unfavorable-histology Wilms tumors. This indicates that NCAM may be an attractive therapeutic target in chemoresistant, high-risk Wilms tumors. In addition, we saw rare NCAM-positive interstitial stromal cells in postnatal kidney. It is not known if these persistent NCAM-positive interstitial cells might give rise to adult Wilms tumors and cases of pediatric Wilms tumors not associated with nephrogenic rests.