Kidney Cancer

Oncology is a medical division that deals with the various types of cancer. Oncology is concerned with the identification of a type of cancer in a person, treatment therapies for cancer like surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other modalities, follow-up care for patients suffering from cancer and palliative care for incurable malignancies.

                             Kidney Cancer Surgery In India ( Renal Cancer )

As the name suggests kidney cancer is a form of cancer that first starts in the cells in the kidney. The two most known kinds of kidney cancer are Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) and Urothelial Cell carcinoma (UCC) of the Renal Pelvis. These names indicate the sort of cell from where the cancer germinated. These two distinct kinds of kidney cancer such as RCC and UCC originate in different ways. This means that the diseases have varied treatment and need to be staged differently. RCC is responsible for approximately 80 percent of primary renal cancers and the remainder is under UCC.

Kidney Cancer Pre-Procedure Requirement

• The most commonly seen symptoms of kidney cancer are a mass in the abdomen and passage of blood in the urine (hematuria).
• The secondary symptoms are fatigue, low or no appetite, weight loss, fever and massive sweating and constant abdominal pain. But, these symptoms can be due to other conditions as well.
• There is a possibility that there may also be no signs of kidney cancer, particularly in the primal phases of the disease.
• An examination of the body to check general health, including signs of the disease, such as lumps or anything else that seems unusual and a history of the patient’s health.
• Blood sample is checked to measure the amounts of certain substances released into the blood by organs and tissues in the body. An unusual amount of a substance can be a sign of disease in the organ or tissue that produces it.
• The removal of cells or tissues so they can be checked for cancer – Biopsy.
• Upper GI series with small bowel follow-through: A series of x-rays of the esophagus, stomach, and small bowel.
• CT scan to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles.
• MRI is done to make a series of detailed pictures of areas within the body.

Kidney Cancer Surgery Procedure

The kidney cancer treatment varies from type to type and stage to stage of the disease. Surgery is typically the backbone of the treatment, usually excludes chemotherapy and radiotherapy because kidney cancers often don't respond to these treatments. Surgery can remove cancer that hasn't spread. This may also include removal of the entire kidney called Total Nephrectomy. However, most tumors are susceptible to partial Nephrectomy that means only removing the tumor and keeping the rest of the kidney.

Surgery is not always a feasible option as the patient's specific condition may not allow it. Sometimes, doctors are unable to remove it in fear of causing the cancer to spread. In case, the cancer can't be cured with the surgery, doctors may sometimes use other techniques such as cryotherapy that is freezing the tumor or radio frequency ablation which means burning the tumor.

Some other treatments include biological therapies that are drug treatment that use natural substances from the body and the use of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy has the potential to exempt some patients from this though it works on only about 10 to 15 percent of patients. In Wilms' tumor, another kind of kidney cancer seen among children, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery can be used as treatments, depending on the stage it is diagnosed in.

Kidney Cancer Post Procedure Advice

After the kidney cancer treatment, follow-up care is must. Even if the cancer is completely removed, the disease has the potential to relapse because cancer cells remain in the body even after treatment. The doctor monitors the recovery of the patient and recurrence of cancer. Checkups make sure that any developments in a patient's health are tracked. The patient may need to undergo lab tests, chest x-rays, CT scans or other tests.

Kidney Cancer FAQ's

• Q. What is Kidney Cancer?
  Kidney cancer is also known as renal cancer that happens when the kidney cells grow out of control, cluster together and turn into a cancerous tumor.
• Q. What are Genitourinary Cancers?
  Genitourinary Cancers refer to cancers in the genital and urinary tract. Some of the common Genitourinary cancers are bladder cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and penile cancer.
• Q. Is it true that there are two different types of kidney cancer?
  Each kidney has two parts, one is the cortical area that filters out blood and makes urine and the other part is the Renal Pelvis. There can be cancerous growth in both these areas although almost 90 percent of all kidney cancers happen in the cortical area and with less than 10 percent in the Renal Pelvis.
• Q. How common is kidney cancer?
  The incidence of kidney cancer has been increasing over the last few years. Patients undergo CAT scans for other reasons and the cancer appears.
• Q. What are the risk factors for kidney cancer?
  The risk factors for developing kidney cancer is smoking (up to one-third of kidney cancer diagnoses may be associated with smoking). Some other risks are family history, obesity, exposure to some carcinogens, petroleum products, asbestos and certain medicines and analgesics.
• Q. Are men or women more at risk of kidney cancer?
  Even though men experience about twice more when compared to women, this difference has narrowed off late.
• Q. Are there some people who don't have any risk factors who still develop kidney cancer?
  Yes, these cases are known as sporadic cancer. In these cases, there is no hereditary inclination for the disease. Some people are diagnosed because of the reaction between their surroundings, food and exposure to carcinogens.
• Q. What are the symptoms associated with kidney cancer?
  Some symptoms of advanced kidney cancer are blood passage in the urine, abdominal pain and a lump near the kidney. However, less than ten percent of patients experience these symptoms.
• Q. What are some of the treatment options available for kidney cancer?
  Ablation involves a surgeon putting probes into the tumor and heating or freezing it to kill the abnormal tissue, forming scar tissue. Biological therapies target the body's own system in an effort to energize an individual's immune system to help fight cancer cells. Surgery has always played a central role in treating kidney cancer, with most patients undergoing either a total or a partial nephrectomy (removal of diseased portion of kidney).
• Q. When should I call my doctor?
  Call your doctor if you have the following symptoms:
  • Fever over 101° F after the surgery
  • Rising pain or swelling
  • Redness or tenderness
  • Numbness