The board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, in affiliation with the University of Louisville, have the skills and equipment to provide precise diagnosis of solid tumor cancers.

Sophisticated treatment means we have the ability to pinpoint the tumor while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Solid tumors represent 30 percent of all cancers in children. They can occur in several parts of the body, including bones, muscles, organs and soft tissues. Treatments for solid tumors include surgery, chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation therapy.

In affiliation with University of Louisville, Norton Children’s Cancer Institute physicians treat a broad range of solid tumors, including: 

Wilms tumor

Also called nephroblastoma, Wilms tumor is a malignancy originating in the cells of the kidney. It is the most common type of kidney cancer and accounts for about 6 percent of all childhood cancers. Generally, the overall cure rate for Wilms tumor is 85 percent 

Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma develops from the tissues that form the sympathetic nervous system. The tumor most commonly begins in the abdomen in the tissues of the adrenal gland, but it also may occur in other areas. The average age of diagnosis is about 18 months, but the tumor occasionally is seen in teenagers or young adults. In the U.S., about 800 new cases of neuroblastoma are diagnosed each year.

Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a rare form of eye cancer that begins in the retina. Sixty percent of cases involve only one eye, but in some children, both eyes may be involved. The condition is most typically found in children younger than age 4, with the average age of diagnosis at 18 months. Retinoblastoma accounts for about 3 percent of all pediatric cancers. About 300 new cases are diagnosed each year.

Germ cell tumors

Germ cell tumors are cancers that can affect the reproductive cells of the testes or ovaries or occur in other parts of the body, such as the abdomen, chest, neck, head and brain.

Hepatoblastoma

Hepatoblastoma is the most common, although rare, malignant liver cancer in children. It initially starts in the right lobe of the liver. It primarily affects children from infancy to about age 5.

Meet our team

Kerry K. McGowan, M.D.
Solid tumor team lead

Mustafa Barbour, M.D.
Hematology/oncology, pediatrics

George T. Calvert, M.D.
Orthopedic surgery, oncology-orthopedics

Aaron C. Spalding, M.D. Ph.D.
Pediatric radiation oncology

Rodolfo Zamora Rendich, M.D.
Orthopedic oncology