What is Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the kidneys and spreads throughout the body. Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that are about the size of a fist apiece. They're behind your abdominal organs, on either side of your spine, with one kidney on each side.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most frequent form of kidney cancer in adults. Other kinds of kidney cancer, which are less prevalent, can also occur. Wilms' tumor is a type of kidney cancer that is more common in young children.

Kidney cancer appears to be becoming more common. In both men and women, kidney cancer is one of the top ten cancers. In general, a man's lifetime risk of having kidney cancer is roughly 1 in 46. (2.02 percent ). For women, the lifetime risk is roughly 1 in 80.

The oncology department at Medica specializes at providing world-class cancer treatment, thanks to their combined clinical excellence of more than 30 years. Our oncologists and onco-surgeons are supported by the latest cancer treatment technologies as well as a team of highly skilled reconstructive surgeons who provide extensive treatment to all of our patients, both adults and children, with a multidisciplinary approach to treating all types and forms of cancer.

It’s not clear what causes most kidney malignancies.

Doctors know that kidney cancer starts when the DNA of some kidney cells changes (mutates). The DNA of a cell includes the instructions that tell it what to do. The modifications tell the cells to multiply and expand quickly. The aberrant cells clump together to produce a tumor that can spread beyond the kidney. Some cells can break off and spread to other places of the body (metastasize).

Other Risk Factors

• Age: Older people are more at risk of getting diagnosed.
• Family History: If someone in your immediate family has had kidney cancer, you’re at a higher risk.
• Genetic Disorders: People with von Hippel-Lindau disease, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma, or familial renal cancer who are born with certain inherited syndromes, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma, or familial renal cancer, may have an increased risk of kidney cancer.
• Hypertension: Kidney cancer is more likely if you have high blood pressure.
• Obesity: Obese people are more likely to develop kidney cancer than people who are regarded to be of a healthy weight.
• Smoking: Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop kidney cancer. After you leave, the danger reduces.
• Receiving Treatment for Kidney Failure: Long-term dialysis is linked to a higher risk of kidney cancer in people with chronic renal failure.

The doctor can use this information to determine the overall stage once they get it. Kidney cancer has four stages: I, II, III, and IV.

Stage I: In stage I kidney cancer, the individual will have a malignant tumor up to 7 cm across inside your kidney. Your lymph nodes and other organs haven’t been affected.

Stage II: In stage II, the kidney tumor that is more than 7 centimeters in diameter. Your lymph nodes and other organs haven’t been affected.

Stage III: This stage can be defined by a number of different tumor sizes and sites. Your cancer is in stage III if a tumor of any size has started to grow into a major vein (such as the renal or vena cava) or into tissue around the kidney, or if it has spread to neighboring lymph nodes.

Stage IV: This, too, is made up of various combinations: This stage can be defined by a number of different tumor sizes and sites. No matter how little the tumor is, it is stage IV if it has spread to any organs other than adjacent lymph nodes. Stage IV cancer can spread to other organs and lymph nodes without damaging them. A stage IV tumor could also expand into the adrenal gland just above your kidney, or into Gerota’s fascia, the thin sac that surrounds each kidney.

The following tests and methods are used to diagnose kidney cancer:

Blood and Urine Tests: Your doctor may use blood and urine tests to figure out what’s causing your signs and symptoms.

Imaging Test: Imaging tests allow your doctor to see a tumor or abnormalities in your kidney. Ultrasound, X-ray, CT, and MRI are examples of imaging tests.

Biopsy: Taking a sample of kidney tissue out of the body (biopsy). Your doctor may suggest a procedure to take a small sample of cells (biopsy) from a questionable spot of your kidney in some cases. In a lab, the sample is examined for signs of malignancy. This step isn’t usually required.

Surgery to remove the malignancy is usually the first step in treating kidney cancer. This may be the only therapy option for malignancies of the kidney. Additional therapies may be indicated if the malignancy has progressed beyond the kidney. Nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy are examples of surgical remedies in case of Kidney cancer.

You and our treatment team can talk about your kidney cancer therapy options together. The optimal treatment option for you may be determined by a variety of criteria, including your overall health, the type of kidney cancer you have, whether the cancer has spread, and your treatment preferences.

Non-Surgical Options
Nonsurgical treatments, such as heat and ice, can sometimes be used to kill small kidney malignancies. In some cases, such as for persons with other health issues that make surgery unsafe, these procedures may be an option.

Among the possibilities are:

Cryoablation: Using ultrasound or other imaging guidance, an unique hollow needle is pushed through your skin and into the kidney tumor during cryoablation. The cancer cells are frozen using a cold gas in the needle.

Radiofrequency Ablation: During radiofrequency ablation, a specific probe is put through your skin and into the kidney tumor with the help of ultrasound or other imaging. An electrical current is passed through the needle and into the cancer cells, heating or burning them.

If your cancer has progressed to become a recurrent type, the following treatment methods may be suggested to you by our doctors to stop the cancer from spreading any further.

Targeted Therapy: Targeted medication treatments are designed to target specific abnormalities found in cancer cells. Targeted medication treatments can kill cancer cells by inhibiting these aberrations. Your doctor may suggest that you get your cancer cells tested to see which targeted medications are the most likely to work.

Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that makes use of your immune system. Because cancer cells create proteins that assist them hide from immune system cells, your body’s disease-fighting immune system may not attack your cancer. Immunotherapy works by interfering with the immune system’s natural processes.

Radiation Therapy: To kill cancer cells, radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams from sources such as X-rays and protons. Radiation therapy is occasionally used to treat kidney cancer that has progressed to other parts of the body, such as the bones and brain.