Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that affects the functioning of the kidneys. Here, the cells of the kidney become malignant. These abnormal cells grow rapidly to form a tumor. Most of the kidney cancers originate in the lining of the tubules in the kidneys. This type of cancer is referred to as renal cell carcinoma.
Most renal cancers are detected before they spread to other organs; hence, kidney cancer treatment is successful in majority of the cases. The exact cause of kidney cancer is not known; however, there are several risk factors associated with it.
Risk factors of kidney cancer include:
Common signs of renal cancer are: pain in the lower back, fatigue, blood in urine, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, and anemia.
1. Types of kidney cancer
Treatment for kidney cancer depends on the type of cancer that a person has.
The types of renal cancer include:
This is the most common type of renal cancer that begins in the lining of the kidney tubules.
This is also known as transitional cell carcinoma. This cancer occurs in the bladder and spreads aggressively to other organs.
This is a rare type of cancer that occurs in the connective tissues. Sarcoma may either be bone sarcoma or soft tissue sarcoma.
It is a cancer that occurs during childhood and originates in the kidneys. Children are primarily affected by this type of cancer.
2. Treatment of kidney cancer
Kidney cancer treatment options are suggested based on the severity or stage of cancer and its type. Treatment options are mostly a combination of two or more therapies. The following are treatment options for kidney cancer:
The surgery depends on how advanced the cancer is. Radical nephrectomy is performed to remove the affected kidney, adrenal gland, and surrounding tissue. The surrounding lymph nodes are also removed. Simple nephrectomy involves the removal of kidney alone. Partial nephrectomy involves removal of affected parts of the kidney and surrounding tissue alone. People can survive with the remaining part of the kidney as long as it is functional.
This therapy uses extreme cold conditions to remove the tumor. This is opted for when cancer cannot be removed by partial or radical nephrectomy.
This is an alternative to surgery where it is not possible to remove the tumor through surgery. Powerful radio waves are used to destroy the tumor.
This procedure is followed to shrink the tumor size before surgery. The blood flow to the tumor is blocked, which shrinks its size.
This therapy uses drugs or other substances to target and destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most commonly followed targeted therapies.