ABOUT THE DISEASE
Kidney is a fist sized organ which is responsible for getting rid of the waste products from the body through urine. Kidney cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in kidney tissue. A cancerous or malignant tumor can metastasize, or spread to other tissues and vital organs. Some of the common types of kidney cancer include Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), Transitional cell carcinoma, Wilm’s tumor, etc.
SYMPTOMS
In the initial stages of the disease, there may be no symptoms, however in later stages some of the following might show up:
- • Blood in the urine
- • Abdominal pain
- • Abdominal lump
- • Anemia
- • Tiredness
- • Loss of appetite and weight loss
- • Fever
- • Back pain
CAUSES
Although no exact cause has been identified, it occurs most often in men ages 50 to 70. Some of the following factors are considered to increase the risk of this disease:
• Hereditary factors - a family history or Von Hippel Lindau disease
• High blood pressure
• Dialysis
• Horseshoe kidney
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Smoking
DIAGNOSIS
Is based on the basis of a combination of the following tests:
- A urine test
- Abdominal CT Scan/Ultrasound
- IVP (Intravenous pyelogram)
- FNAC (Fine needle aspiration cytology)
- Arteriogram
- Biopsy
TREATMENT METHODS
The treatment plan depends upon various factors such as age, stage of the cancer (whether it has already metastasized and spread to other organs or lymph nodes) etc.
- Surgical treatment- Radical or Partial Nephrectomy.
- Arterial embolization - to cut off blood supply to the tumor in the kidney.
- Radiation therapy is not found to be too effective in this kind of cancer.
- Chemotherapy may be used in some cases. This is a treatment which uses cancer killing medications to fight the cancer.
You may also like to learn about:
Polycystic kidney
Bladder cancer
Kidney/Renal failure
Horseshoe kidney
Renal tumor
Hematuria