Understanding Kidney Cancer: A Comprehensive Guide

Kidney cancer as the name suggests is the cancer of the kidneys. When healthy cells in the kidneys grow out of control it leads to the formation of a lump called tumors. Some of the most common kidney cancer symptoms involve flank pain and blood in your urine. 

As with any type of cancer, early detection and diagnosis is of the utmost requirement to treat the condition. Kidney cancer treatment often involves chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Now that you know the basics, let’s delve into the causes, types, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney cancer.
 

What Is Kidney Cancer?

Kidney cancer starts in your kidneys as cancerous or malignant tumors. The formation of tumors is triggered by some underlying cause, which makes the cells divide abnormally. Once the tumors are formed, they have the potential to spread to other parts of the body, when that happens it is known as distant metastasis. This is common in advanced stages of cancer and must be prevented to ensure better survival rates.

Kidney cancer, though rare, affects thousands of people in India every year. This condition is more common among men than women and the average age of a kidney cancer diagnosis is generally between the ages of 65 and 74 years. A type of kidney cancer called Wilms’ tumor is common among children below the age of eight with most cases being diagnosed by the age of five. Let’s review the different types of kidney cancer to better understand the condition.
 

Types of Kidney Cancer

• Renal Cell Carcinoma: Also known as RCC, it is the most common type of kidney cancer. This type of cancer generally starts in one kidney as a single tumor but has the potential to spread to both kidneys. The cancer starts from the cells that line your kidney tubules. These are the small tubes that return nutrients and fluids that are extracted from the waste urine back to your blood.
   
• Transitional Cell Carcinoma: Transitional cell carcinoma is the second most common type of kidney cancer, which affects in a region known as your renal pelvis. It is the area where the ureters attach to the main part of your kidney. Transitional cell carcinoma can also occur in your ureter or bladder.
   

Wilms Tumor: Wilms tumor is common among children and is also one of the most common types of kidney cancer. The tumor starts in the kidneys with the potential to spread to other parts of the body. It is generally caused when the cells in a child’s body start to grow abnormally and out of control.
 

• Renal Sarcoma: Among the types of kidney cancer, renal sarcoma is the rarest of them all. The cancer starts from the connective tissues present in the kidneys and has the potential to spread to nearby organs and even your bones.
   

Causes of Kidney Cancer

The exact cause of kidney cancer is not known, however, several risk factors have been identified to increase your risk of kidney cancer significantly. Let’s review the various kidney cancer risk factors.

• Family History

Kidney cancer or cancer in general has a link with family history. People who have immediate family members who have cancer are at a higher risk of getting cancer themselves. This is only true for first-degree relatives like brothers, sisters, parents, or children. If you have a family history of kidney cancer, you must discuss that with your doctor and get a better understanding of your risk factors. It will help you learn about preventive measures you can take to lower your cancer risk.

• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

High blood pressure or hypertension is a known risk factor for kidney cancer. It is estimated that people with high blood pressure are at double the risk of kidney cancer than people without hypertension. It is estimated that the damage to blood vessels caused due to hypertension contributes to the changes in renal cells, which can lead to renal cell carcinoma. However, this is one of the various possible explanations connecting hypertension with kidney cancer. The exact reason and connection between the two conditions is still unknown.

• Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is considered a risk factor for kidney cancer in women. This is mainly because when women go through radiation therapy for the treatment of any cancer of the reproductive organs, it increases their risk of kidney cancer slightly. It should be known that the risk increase in this matter is not significant and shouldn’t be used as a reason to avoid radiation therapy for any other cancer that affects your body. If you are concerned about the risk factor, you can talk to your doctor before opting for it.

• Obesity

Obesity is often linked with an increase in the risk of kidney cancer. The higher the obesity in patients, the higher their risk of kidney cancer. People with obesity are twice as likely to get renal cell carcinoma, which is a type of kidney cancer than people with a healthy body weight. Keeping your obesity in check is one of the only ways to mitigate this risk factor of kidney cancer.

• Smoking

Smoking is one of the major risk factors of kidney cancer as well as several other serious health conditions. Studies estimate that almost 30% of all kidney cancer in men and 25% in women have smoking as a contributing factor in them. Quitting smoking if you have a habit is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of kidney cancer.

• Long-Term Dialysis Treatment

Dialysis is a treatment option that’s used in cases where the kidneys are not functioning properly. This treatment uses a special machine to clean the blood in your body, a job that’s usually done by your kidneys. If patients have chronic kidney disease and require long-term dialysis for the kidneys to function properly, it is estimated that they will have a five-fold higher risk of kidney cancer than other people.

• Von-Hippel Lindau Disease

Von-Hippel Lindau disease is a rare condition that can increase your risk of kidney cancer. This condition is genetically inherited and it causes an increased incidence of noncancerous tumors across your body, especially in your brain and eyes. People with this disease are also at a higher risk of kidney cancer namely a specific type of kidney cancer known as clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

• Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Tuberous sclerosis is a condition that causes intellectual disabilities in patients as well as seizures. In some cases, it also leads to the formation of tumors in different parts of the body. For kidney cancer, it leads to an increase of two to four percent in the risk factor of kidney cancer.
 

Symptoms of Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer doesn’t show symptoms in the early stages in most cases. As the tumor grows, the symptoms become more visible and disruptive to your general health. Here are some of the symptoms that are commonly associated with kidney cancer.

• Flank pain
• Blood in your urine (hematuria)
• Weight loss
• Feeling sick all the time
• High blood pressure
• Loss of appetite
• Tiredness throughout the day
• High calcium levels in your body
• Symptoms of anemia 
• Pain in your bones
• A lump or mass in your kidneys
   

Diagnosing Kidney Cancer

Several diagnostic tests including blood, urine, and imaging tests are used to diagnose kidney cancer. Let’s review the different tests.

• Urinalysis: Urinalysis is a common test used to detect problems with your kidneys. For kidney cancer, doctors test your urine to check for any trace of blood in your urine. Sometimes the blood in your urine is not visible and a test like urinalysis is used to check for even the slightest trace of blood in your urine. This is one of the primary tests performed by doctors if they suspect patients have kidney cancer.
   
• Blood Test: Blood tests are performed to check the different levels of electrolytes and blood compounds in the body. High levels of calcium, creatinine, and few red blood cells can indicate kidney cancer. Blood tests are often prescribed along with urinalysis to check for kidney cancer.
   
• CT Scan: A CT scan is an imaging test that is used to check for any tumors or lumps in your kidneys. The CT scan is a special type of x-ray that is used to get a clear image of your kidneys and to detect any defects with them.
   
• Renal Mass Biopsy: A biopsy is almost always performed if doctors suspect cancer. A renal mass biopsy involves removing a piece of the tumor through a minimally invasive procedure. Doctors then look at the tumor under a microscope to understand the stage of the cancer or if the tumor is cancerous or not. However, it should be noted that renal mass biopsy is somewhat rare for kidney cancer as it can sometimes be unreliable.
   

Kidney Cancer Treatment

In terms of treatment kidney cancer can be treated using various surgical and nonsurgical treatment options. In terms of treatment, the method used is often dependent on the stage of the kidney cancer. For advanced stages often multiple treatment processes need to be used together to treat the cancer fully. Let’s review the various kidney cancer treatments regularly used.

• Surgery

Surgery is the most common treatment option recommended for patients with cancer. For kidney cancer, the surgical treatment involves removing the tumor from the kidney with a minimally invasive procedure. Sometimes kidney cancer surgery involves removing only a part of the kidney with the tumor and sometimes it involves removing the entire kidney and some tissues around it. This is done to ensure that the cancer does not spread. If an entire kidney is removed, it is ensured that the remaining kidney can support your body's functions safely.

• Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that involves giving patients specific medicines that strengthen the immune system. With a stronger immune system, your body can identify the cancer cells and kill them internally. This treatment is often used by itself for early diagnosis of cancer or along with surgical treatments to treat kidney cancer.

• Ablation

Ablation is the process of using heat or cold to destroy the cancerous tumor without the need for surgery. This treatment is often recommended to patients who are not fit for surgery. Different types of ablation procedures namely cryoablation and radiofrequency ablation are used to treat kidney cancer. The procedures involve inserting a small needle directly into the tumor inside your kidney and sending either heat or cold gas to kill the cancer cells.

• Targeted Drug Therapy

Targeted drug therapy uses special medicines to treat kidney cancer. These drugs stop several important thriving factors for kidney cancer including the growth of new blood vessels or protein that feeds the cancer cells. This therapy treatment is effective in low-grade kidney cancer and is also used as a post-surgical treatment to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
 

Conclusion

Kidney cancer is relatively rare and often goes under the radar undiagnosed until later stages. The kidney cancer symptoms and risk factors discussed in this blog are important and should be monitored at all times. As you age, it is important to go for regular health screenings to reduce your risk of high-grade kidney cancer. For more information about kidney cancer and a detailed overview of the various treatment options discussed in this article, check out MASSH. We specialize in minimally invasive treatment options for kidney cancer and can help you treat the condition with minimal hospital stay and a quick recovery period. Check out our website or visit us today to learn more about the best kidney cancer treatment in Delhi only at MASSH.