World Kidney Cancer Day 2022: Causes, symptoms and treatment of kidney cancer

Our kidneys play an important role in cleaning blood, removing waste products, and making urine.

Kidney cancer or renal cancer occurs when the kidney cells become cancerous and form a tumor. However, kidney cancers if detected early can be successfully treated. People who are obese, smokers, have advanced kidney disease, or with a family history of kidney cancer are more at risk. World Kidney Cancer Day, an annual celebration to spread awareness around deadly cancer, is being observed on June 17 this year."

Kidney cancer or renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. It accounts for approximately 85% of neoplasms arising from the kidney," says Dr. Sanjeev Gulati, Principal Director, Nephrology & Kidney Transplant, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj. Neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue that forms when cells grow and divide more than they should or do not die when they should, according to cancer.gov.

Signs and symptoms

Blood in urine, a lump like formation in side of abdomen, appetite loss, persistent pain in one side, weight loss for no apparent reason, fever that lasts for weeks, extreme fatigue, anemia, swelling in ankles of legs are some of the signs and symptoms of kidney cancer. If the kidney cancer has spread further in the body, it may lead to symptoms like shortness of breath, bone pain or coughing blood.

Other signs and symptoms include the following:

• Weight loss

• Fever

• Hypertension

• Hypercalcemia

• Night sweats

• Malaise

• A varicocele, usually left sided, due to obstruction of the testicular vein

Diagnosis

Laboratory studies which help in diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma include the following:

• Urinalysis (UA)

• Complete blood cell (CBC) count with differential

• Electrolytes

• Renal profile

• Liver function tests (LFTs; aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT])

• Serum calcium

Imaging studies used to evaluate and stage renal masses may include the following:

• Excretory urography

• CT scanning

• PET scanning

• Ultrasonography

• Arteriography

• Venography

• MRI

Treatment

According to WebMd, here are the treatment options for kidney cancer:

- Surgery: The type of surgery may depend on how advanced the kidney cancer is. Radical nephrectomy removes the kidney, adrenal gland, and surrounding tissue. It also often removes nearby lymph nodes. It is the most common surgery for kidney cancer. Simple nephrectomy removes the kidney only. Partial nephrectomy removes the cancer in the kidney along with some tissue around it.

- Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to kill the tumour.

- Radiofrequency ablation uses high-energy radio waves to "cook" the tumour.

- Arterial embolization involves inserting material into an artery that leads to the kidney. This blocks blood flow to the tumour. This is done to shrink the tumour before surgery.