The following describes the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer. For specific information regarding your health and treatment options, please contact your Hurley physician or medical professional.

Kidney cancer, also called renal cancer, involves the growth of abnormal cancerous cells in one or both of the kidneys.

The most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell cancer. Approximately 55,000 to 60,000 people are diagnosed with renal cell cancer each year, with African-Americans having a slightly higher risk than other groups. Men are also twice as likely as women to develop renal cell cancer.  

What causes kidney cancer?

The exact causes of kidney cancer, as with most cancers, are unknown. However, there are certain risk factors that increase the possibility of being diagnosed with kidney cancer, including gender and race, as noted above, as well as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, overuse of diuretics (also known as water pills, which cause the elimination of excess body fluid), obesity and poor diet, family history of bladder cancer, and exposure to certain toxins such as asbestos and cadmium. Individuals undergoing long-term dialysis or who have tuberous sclerosis disease are also more vulnerable to kidney cancer.

What are the symptoms of kidney cancer?

Typical symptoms of kidney cancer include the following:

• Blood in the urine
• Fatigue
• Rapid weight loss not due to dieting or another known cause
• Reduced appetite
• Pain in the side or lower back that is not the result of a known injury
• Swelling in the ankles and legs
• Recurring or persistent fever not due to a cold or the flu

In some cases, anemia or high blood pressure may also be signs of kidney cancer. Since the symptoms of kidney cancer vary across individuals and may appear similar to symptoms of other illnesses and disorders, you should always speak to your Hurley physician about any symptoms you are experiencing.

Diagnosing kidney cancer

During your appointment, your Hurley physician will ask you questions about your medical history and conduct a complete physical examination. Laboratory tests may be ordered, including blood and urine tests. Imaging technology may also be used to identify structural or chemical problems, including renal angiography and intravenous pyelogram (IVP), both of which involve the injection of dyes into the veins connected to the bladder, followed by x-rays. Other imaging tests may include ultrasound, CT scans, MRI scans, bone scans and PET scans. Tissue biopsies may also be taken, which involve removal of a small piece of the affected organ to be analyzed by a trained pathologist for the presence of abnormal cells.

Part of the diagnostic testing process involves grading and “staging” the kidney cancer. In this step, your oncologist will determine the type of cancerous cells or tumors present, the rate of tumor growth, and the degree to which the cancer has spread to other organs and systems of the body. Your oncologist will then recommend a course of treatment that takes this information into account, as well as your age, overall health, and personal and family circumstances, and your unique needs and objectives for treatment.

Treating kidney cancer

Treatment options may include surgery (called a nephrectomy) to remove the cancerous cells, tumors and affected areas of the kidney. For smaller tumors and less aggressive cancers, some parts of the kidneys, or one of the two kidneys, may be left in place in order to continue the work of both kidneys. An arterial embolization procedure may be conducted, in which the main blood vessel to the tumor is blocked, depriving the tumor of needed oxygen. For more advanced cases, more aggressive surgery may be required, including complete removal of the kidneys and related organs.

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and biological therapies (that use the body’s own immune system to fight cancer) may also be used alone, in combination with each other, or in addition to surgical techniques. There are also a number of new drugs and innovative therapies that have been developed recently to target and treat kidney cancer. Research on kidney cancer is ongoing; you may wish to speak with your Hurley physician about clinical trials that are testing new, emerging treatment options.