The plight of children suffering from a common form of pediatric cancer has been revealed in dramatic new photographs.

The snapshots offer graphic insight into the pain of Wilms Tumours – a rare form of growths that target the kidneys .

Identified only as Sohana, 3, the infant is shown on a busy roadside – stomach protruding – while being held by a relative in India’s Chitrakoot Dham Karwi.

The child’s painful-looking mass is so swollen that the youngster appears unable to wear her clothes properly, with her t-shirt barely covering the tumour’s tip and her elasticated trousers gathered underneath it.

A second image shows white gauze attached to her side, which suggests she has either undergone pre-surgery testing or has suffered a recent surface wound.

Shockingly, Wilms tumours are the most common cancers in children, accounting for 9 out of 10 cases, but – according to cancer charity Macmillan – the causes of it are largely unknown.

Very rarely, people who develop Wilms’ tumour have other specific conditions which are present at birth, such as a lack of an iris in the eye (aniridia), abnormalities of the genitals or a condition where one side of the body is slightly larger than the other (hemihypertrophy).

There is also evidence that suggests a slight genetic link, although only 1 per cent of patients have a relative with the condition.