Case Report: A case of pediatric reninoma and literatures review

TL;DR

This case report and literature review describe a rare kidney tumor called reninoma in a child, highlighting its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

Contribution

The study adds a new pediatric case of atypical reninoma and reviews 62 Chinese cases to clarify diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Findings

Reninoma in children often presents with hypertension and normal potassium levels, requiring imaging and pathology for diagnosis.

Radiofrequency ablation and partial nephrectomy can effectively treat reninoma while preserving kidney function.

Among 62 Chinese cases, most were typical reninoma, with a subset showing atypical features like normal potassium levels.

Abstract

To investigate the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of reninoma.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of one reninoma patient admitted in 2023, supplemented by an analysis of 62 reninoma cases diagnosed and treated in China between 2016 and May 2025, as reported in the literature.

The patient was a 10-year-old female admitted for hypertension detected during a physical examination. With normal serum potassium levels, bilateral renal vein sampling confirmed atypical reninoma. Under ultrasound guidance, radiofrequency ablation was performed on the right renal tumor, and pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Two years postoperatively, the patient presented again with elevated blood pressure and underwent partial right nephrectomy, after which blood pressure normalized. Reviewing the literature, among the 62 reported cases in China, 44 were typical reninoma, 16 were atypical reninoma (patients presented only with hypertension and normal serum potassium levels), and 2 were non-functional reninomas.

Young women presenting with high renin and aldosterone, with or without hypokalemia, should raise suspicion for reninoma. Diagnosis requires integration of clinical presentation, imaging findings, and pathological characteristics. Curative treatment is achievable through tumor resection preserving renal units.

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