Kidney Cancer

When kidney cancer is a malignant tumor in the kidney tissue formation. Kidney cancer accounts for approximately twelve percent of all cancers. Currently it is newly infected every year by about 6,500 women and 11,000 men from newly diseased. These figures have risen in recent years, while the rate of those who die from the disease, has decreased slightly due to better medical care. The average age at onset is 67 years for women and men at 71 years.

The so-called renal cell cancer represents 85 percent of all kidney cancer diseases of adulthood most dar. Rarer kidney cancers are Wilms' tumor, sarcoma or lymphoma of the kidney. With most types of tumors only one kidney is affected.

How is kidney cancer?

Exact causes for the development of renal cancer disease are not known. Risk factors include obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Chronic renal damage (such as chronic renal failure) may favor the development of cancer, as well as the contact with nephrotoxic agents (eg, arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, hydrocarbons). Furthermore, the Predisposition to renal cell cancer are inherited. Certain diseases suggest a genetic cause of renal cell cancer. One example is the so-called von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

What are the symptoms of kidney cancer?

The classic symptoms include blood in the urine, a palpable swelling and pain in kidney region. The combination of these symptoms are only rarely observed and only in more advanced disease. Symptoms such as unexplained fever, extreme tiredness, weight loss and reduced performance, which may indicate a tumor disease occur, usually at a late stage. At the beginning of the disease Kidney cancer rarely causes symptoms. This kidney cancer is often discovered by accident when an ultrasound is performed for another reason with the victim.

How kidney cancer is diagnosed?

There are no specific blood tests that indicate kidney cancer disease. As these individuals usually have little or no complaints, kidney cancer is detected so often happens. The suspicion of the disease, for example, in the clarification of blood in the urine appear or as part of an ultrasound examination of abdominal organs. In these cases the doctor will arrange for further investigations. As a basic examination for detection of renal cancer disease is the next ultrasound examination, the so-called excretory urography. This is a special x-ray of the urinary tract for the representation of the kidneys, ureters and bladder. A potentially malignant findings are detected so often.

The exact diagnosis can be made with a computed tomography (CT) position. In addition, the doctor can assess this investigation, how advanced the cancer is. In rare cases, instead of computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is performed.

Treatment: Surgery to remove the tumor

The treatment of kidney cancer depends on how advanced the disease is. Basically, surgery is the only way to cure the disease completely.

If the cancer is limited exclusively to the kidney, is usually surgically removed the diseased kidney. Under certain circumstances, this operation also lymph nodes, adrenal gland and the surrounding tissue are removed. After surgery, the remaining healthy kidney take over the functions of the kidney removed completely.

In some cases, instead of the entire kidney, only a portion of the diseased gland is surgically removed, so the remainder will remain functional. This is useful in the following cases: the person has only one kidney, the renal function is severely impaired or both kidneys are affected by cancer. Theoretically, such an approach is possible even with very small renal tumors.

With approximately one in four people affected by cancer has already spread to other organs ("metastasis"), if the disease is discovered. Particularly frequent metastases of renal cancer to occur in the lungs, lymph nodes, liver or bones. A complete healing is often no longer possible. Therefore must be decided individually which treatment procedures are effective. Under certain conditions, the kidney and the metastases are surgically removed in order to prolong the survival time of the persons concerned. In addition, others come under chemotherapy, known as immunotherapy and irradiation of metastases considered. It is particularly important also to relieve the pain with medication.

How is kidney cancer?

Basically, the earlier kidney cancer is detected, the better the prognosis and the higher the rate of those who survive the disease long. Concerned with very small renal tumors (less than seven centimeters) can often be cured completely by surgery. If the cancer is greater, a complete cure is not always to be expected. In addition, larger tumors at the rate of women in whom the cancer recurs despite surgery increases (so-called relapse). The occurrence of metastases in many cases means a significantly worse prognosis.

Regarding the care of victims, whose kidney was removed surgically, there are, so far no exact specifications. Thorough follow-up examinations are necessary but in any case at regular intervals for a long period, because recurrences and metastases of renal cancer in individual cases can occur even after many years.

How to prevent kidney cancer?

Targeted prevention is not possible, since the circumstances of the emergence of kidney cancer are not known. Only the risk factors can be through healthy diet, regular physical activity and counteract non-smoking. In addition, one should in the occurrence of blood in the urine, seek sharp edges or back pain or other urological complaints expeditiously the family doctor to rule out a malignant disease of the urinary tract.

For specific questions about kidney cancer, you can contact the specialists to qualified medic plus.