Rat Renal Mesenchymal Tumor as an Experimental Model for Human Congenital Mesoblastic Nephroma: II. Comparative Pathology

The morphological features of kidney neoplasms induced by ethylnitrosourea (ENU) with or without prior irradiation were examined with a view to comparing them with human renal tumors of childhood. The rat renal tumors consisted of poorly differentiated, highly mitotic mesenchymal cells frequently attempting to differentiate along fibroblastic and myofibroblastic lineages. Though the host renal tubules were frequently entrapped in these tumors, immature tubules and islands of epithelial cells occasionally were seen to form an integral part of the neoplasms. Rarely, adenomatous areas surrounded by mesenchymal proliferation were observed. None of the tumors had the blastemal component that is the hallmark of nephroblastoma. The rat mesenchymal tumors resembled the human congenital mesoblastic nephroma.