Kidney Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment & More

When cells in the kidneys undergo unchecked mutation and proliferation, a malignant tumor is diagnosed as kidney cancer. Pain in the flank, hypertension, blood in the urine, and other symptoms are common among those with kidney cancer. Surgical removal of the tumor, chemotherapy and radiation are all options for patients with advanced kidney cancer. Early diagnosis is crucial for treating lung cancer, as it is with all other types of cancer.

What Is Kidney Cancer?

Cancer that develops in the kidneys is called kidney cancer. There are two kidneys in your body, and they are around the size of your fists. One kidney sits on either side of your spine, behind your abdominal organs.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common kind of kidney cancer in adults. The kidneys may develop cancer. However, it is usually one of the less prevalent forms. The risk of developing Wilms’ tumor, a kind of kidney cancer, increases in younger people.

Cancer of the kidneys seems to be on the rise. Increased usage of imaging methods like CT scans might be a contributing factor. More cases of kidney cancer may be found using these testing. Most cases of kidney cancer are detected in their early stages when the disease is still manageable and localized to the kidney.

Who Is Susceptible To Kidney Cancer?

The peak incidence of kidney cancer occurs in the age range of 65 to 74. More males than women get the condition. Native Americans and people of African descent also disproportionately suffer from this.

The incidence of kidney cancer in young people is quite low. However, every year, between 500 and 600 children are diagnosed with Wilms tumors, a kind of kidney cancer.

Causes

The root kidney cancer causes of most kidney malignancies is still unknown.

Scientists have discovered that abnormalities in the DNA of some kidney cells serve as the germline for the development of kidney cancer. DNA in the cell stores the instructions for that cell to follow. These alterations stimulate fast cell growth and division. As more and more abnormal cells accumulate, a tumor develops, and it may spread beyond the kidney. Certain cells can divide and eventually colonize other organs.

Symptoms

Signs and kidney cancer symptoms are uncommon in its early stages. As time progresses, you may start to notice these symptoms:

•       Seeing pink, red, or cola-coloured blood in your urine indicates that you may have a blood clot in your urinary tract.
•       Continual back or side pain
•       Not feeling hungry
•       Loss of weight for no apparent reason.
•       Tiredness
•       Fever

Risk

Anything that raises the odds of becoming sick is considered a risk factor. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be modified, while others, like family history, cannot (gender or family history). Having one or more risk factors does not ensure that you will get kidney cancer, but it might raise your risk.

Factors that raise the likelihood of developing kidney cancer are:

•       Smoking
•       Carrying extra weight (obese)
•       Elevated blood pressure
•       Sexual orientation: males are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer as females.
•       Having severe chronic renal disease and requiring dialysis therapy
•       Kidney cancer in the family
•       Consumption of the analgesic phenacetin for an extended period
•       Diseases like von Hippel-Lindau and Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome are examples of the kinds of very uncommon genetic disorders that may affect a person.
•       Exposure to asbestos or cadmium over a prolonged period

Reducing your chance of acquiring kidney cancer may be as simple as eliminating modifiable risk factors. Quitting smoking is one way to reduce risk, as is maintaining a healthy weight and treating hypertension.

When It Comes To Kidney Cancer, What Kind Of Treatment Options Are There?

Kidney cancer treatment varies based on the patient’s age, general health, and tumor stage/grade. Surgery, ablation, radiation, targeted drugs, immunotherapy, and even chemotherapy are all possibilities.

•       Surgery

In most cases, kidney cancer is surgically removed. Several surgical procedures might be on the table:

•       Nephrectomy

The theorized area of your kidney is surgically removed.

•       Complete Removal Of The Kidney (Radical Nephrectomy)

During this procedure, your surgeon will remove your kidney and part of the tissue around it. Lymph nodes around the affected region could also be taken out.

If a patient has just one kidney and loses the other, the surviving kidney can normally handle all of the body’s metabolic processes.

•       Ablation

Cancer cells may sometimes be killed by exposure to high or low temperatures. Cryoablation and radiofrequency ablation are alternatives to surgery that may help certain people.

•       Cryoablation

During this surgery, a needle is inserted through the patient’s skin and into the kidney tumor. In the next step, cold gas is used to freeze the cancer cells.

•       Removing Tissue Using Radio Waves

After making a small incision in your skin, your doctor will introduce a needle directly into the kidney tumor. The next step is to kill the cancer cells by exposing them to an electrical current.

•       Radiation Treatment

If you have one kidney or are not a surgical candidate, your doctor may suggest radiation treatment. When treating kidney cancer, radiation is often used to alleviate painful symptoms like those.

•       Specific Medication Treatment

Certain features of cancer cells are inhibited by targeted medication treatment. These medications may, for instance, impede the production of new blood vessels and proteins that nourish tumors.

Surgery should be the first line of treatment whenever possible, but if it can’t be, then targeted medication therapy should be. Some patients may benefit from taking these drugs following surgery to reduce their recurrence risk.

Wrapping Up

Tumors arising in the kidneys due to the unchecked proliferation of cells, which causes renal cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is the most frequent among the several forms of kidney cancer.

Increasing risk factors for renal cancer include being a smoker, being overweight, and having a family history of the disease. However, medical professionals lack a firm grasp of the root reasons.

Surgery, systemic therapies, and radiation therapy are potential treatments for kidney cancer. The overall survival rate for persons with kidney cancer is 76%, indicating the efficacy of these strategies.