Live Life Team
Kidneys are bean-shaped organs located on either sides of the body. Though a number of cancers affect the kidneys, the most frequent one is renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Wilms’ tumour and transitional cell cancer are two rare forms primarily affecting the children.
People aged between 50 and 80 years are likely to suffer. Within this age group men are more viable.
Symptoms
Most of the cases don’t manifest any symptoms unless it advances to a critical stage. This includes presence of blood in urine, a persistent pain beneath ribs, a lump or bulge in abdomen.
Once it spreads the manifestations like continuous fever, night sweats, fatigue, and pain of bones will be present.
Causes:
The exact cause is not known. Smoking, elevated blood pressure and obesity are thought to be the prime risk factors. Studies have revealed that these factors are responsible for almost 50% of renal cancers. Occupational exposure to certain chemicals is also found to increase the risk for developing renal cancer. The chemicals include asbestos, trichloroethylene and cadmium.
Treatment
Multi-disciplinary teams are run by various primary care trusts (PCTs) that treats renal cancer.
A MDT consists of
A urologist – a physician specialised in renal mechanisms
A clinical oncologist – an expert in radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
A pathologist – an expert of an unhealthy tissue.
A psychologist
A cancer nurse – the most important person linking the MDT and the patient
Staging of kidney cancer
Renal cancer is divided into the following stages:
Stage 1 – the size of the tumour is less than 7cm (2.8 inches) in diameter, and is present within the kidney.
Stage 2 – the size of the tumour is more than 7cm (2.8 inches) in diameter, but do not exceed kidney.
Stage 3 – the cancer spreads to adjacent structures like the adrenal gland, lymph node, blood vessels etc.
Stage 4 – the cancer is affecting lymph nodes, or it may involve other organs.
Surgical treatments:
Nephrectomy
Nephrectomy is the surgical removal of one or both kidneys. Depending upon the extent of cancer either the partial or complete removal of kidney may be done.
Embolisation
It is a substitute for nephrectomy. This involves inserting a catheter into and obstructing the blood supply so that the cancerous cells are destroyed.
Non-surgical treatments for kidney cancer
Radiotherapy
It cannot completely cure the condition. But several of the symptoms can be minimised. It has side effects like nausea, weakness and vomiting etc.
Immunotherapy
This method involves provision of medicines to improve the immune power to fight effectively the cancer. This includes alpha interferon and aldesleukin.
Targeted therapies
Four newly invented medicines effective in renal cancer management include temsirolimus, sunitinib, bevacizumab and sorafenib.
These medications are at times called as ‘targeted therapies’ because they are intended to destroy or restrain all favourable factors for the growth and multiplication of cancerous cells.
