Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells of the kidney. The two most common types of kidney cancer are :
- Renal cell carcinoma (RCC)
- Urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) of the renal pelvis
These names reflect the type of cell from which the cancer develops.
RCC and UCC develop in different ways, which means that the diseases have different outlooks and need to be staged and treated in different ways. RCC is responsible for approximately 80% of primary renal cancers, and UCC accounts for the majority of the remainder.
Symptoms
Kidney cancer rarely causes signs or symptoms in its early stages. In the later stages, kidney cancer signs and symptoms may include:
- Blood in the urine, which may appear pink, red or cola colored
- Back pain just below the ribs that doesn’t go away
- Persistent pain in the abdomen
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Intermittent fever
- Heavy sweating
However, many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions, and there may also be no signs or symptoms in a person with kidney cancer, especially in the early stages of the disease. It is good to consult a doctor if an individual suffers from multiple of these symptoms.
Causes
Factors that increase the risk of kidney cancer include:
- Smoking, which can double the risk of the disease
- Regular use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, which may increase the risk by 51%
- Faulty genes
- A family history of kidney cancer
- Having kidney disease that needs dialysis
- Being infected with Hepatitis C
- Previous treatment for testicular cancer or cervical cancer
Other risk factors include
Factors that can increase the risk of kidney cancer include :
- Older age – Your risk of kidney cancer increases as you age.
- Obesity – People who are obese have a higher risk of kidney cancer than do people who are considered average weight.
- High blood pressure (hypertension) – High blood pressure increases your risk of kidney cancer.
- Von Hippel-Lindau disease – People with this inherited disorder are likely to develop several kinds of tumors, including, in some cases, kidney cancer.
- Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma – Having this inherited condition makes it more likely for an individual to develop one or more kidney cancers.
Diagnosis
Tests and procedures used to diagnose kidney cancer include :
- Blood and urine tests – Tests of your blood and your urine may give your doctor clues about what’s causing your signs and symptoms.
- Imaging tests – Imaging tests allow your doctor to visualise a kidney tumour or abnormality. Imaging tests might include ultrasound, computerised tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Removing a sample of kidney tissue (biopsy) – In certain cases, your doctor may recommend a procedure called biopsy to remove a small sample of cells from a suspicious area in the kidney. The sample is tested in a lab to look for signs of cancer.
Treatment
The treatment suggested by your doctor depends on the stage of kidney cancer. Once the patient is examined the treatment procedure is chosen for the patient which could be any of the following methods:
Surgery: Surgery is the initial treatment for the majority of kidney cancers. The different types of surgical methods used by the doctors are as below:
- Nephrectomy: Radical nephrectomy involves the removal of the kidney, a border of healthy tissue and the adjacent lymph nodes. The adrenal gland may also be removed.
Nephrectomy can be an open operation, meaning the surgeon makes one large incision to access your kidney. Or nephrectomy can be done laparoscopically, using several small incisions to insert a video camera and tiny surgical tools. The surgeon watches a video monitor to perform the nephrectomy. - Nephron-sparing surgery: During this procedure, also called partial nephrectomy, the surgeon removes the tumour and a small margin of healthy tissue that surrounds it, rather than removing the entire kidney.
Nephron-sparing surgery is a common treatment for small kidney cancers. It may also be an option if you have only one kidney. When nephron-sparing surgery is possible, it’s generally preferred over radical nephrectomy since retaining as much kidney tissue as possible may reduce your risk of later complications, such as kidney disease and the need for dialysis.
Kidney cancer that recurs and kidney cancer that spreads to other parts of the body may not be curable, but may be controlled with treatment. In these situations, treatments may include :
- Surgery to remove as much of the kidney tumour as possible: Even when surgery can’t remove all of the cancer, it may be helpful in removing a large chunk. Surgery may also be used to remove cancer that has spread to another area of the body.
- Biological therapy : Biological therapy (immunotherapy) uses your body’s immune system to fight cancer.Drugs in this category include interferon and aldesleukin (Proleukin),which are synthetic versions of chemicals made in your body. Side effects of these drugs include chills, fever, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite.
- Targeted therapy: Targeted treatments block specific abnormal signals present in kidney cancer cells that allow them to proliferate. These drugs have shown promise in treating kidney cancer that has spread to other areas of the body.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams, such as x-rays, to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy is sometimes used to control or reduce symptoms of kidney cancer that has spread to other areas of the body, such as the bones.