Kidney Cancer

Medicine and Health

 

Symptoms:-

• Pain in back or side
• Swelling or lump in back or side
• Blood in the urine
• Fatigue
•  Swelling in the ankles
• Loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss
• Rapid swelling in the testicle area for men
• Unexplainable fevers that come and go

Signs of kidney cancer caused by changes in kidney hormones may include:

•  High blood pressure
• Anemia

Types of kidney cancer

More than 90 percent of all kidney tumors are renal cell carcinomas (RCC). Subtypes include:

• Clear cell RCC
• Papillary RCC
• Chromophobe RCC
• Collecting duct RCC
• Unclassified RCC

Other types of kidney cancer include:

• Transitional cell carcinom
• Renal sarcoma

 

Diagnosing kidney cancer :    

Many early kidney cancers are discovered during testing for other reasons. A urine sample may show blood, or a blood test may detect anemia. An imaging study of the abdomen for unrelated symptoms may reveal kidney cancer.
If doctors suspect kidney cancer, imaging studies are important for diagnosis. In some cases, kidney cancer may be diagnosed with imaging studies alone.

These include:

• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound imaging

Kidney cancer treatment options

Multiple treatment options are used for kidney cancer, and which are appropriate for you depends on the stage and location of the disease. The approach to treating kidney cancer also depends on a patient’s age and healthy history. A multidisciplinary team of cancer experts will recommend treatment options based on each patient’s unique diagnosis, as well as any concerns about side effects and personal preferences. Common treatments for kidney cancer include:

•  Surgery, typically the first treatment option for early-stage kidney cancers because tumors have likely not spread to other areas of the body
•  Radiation therapy
•  Chemotherapy
•  Immunotherapy
• Targeted therapy