Cancer of the kidneys is known as kidney cancer. Your kidneys are two bean-molded organs, each about the size of your clenched hand. Each kidney is on each side of your spine, behind your abdominal organs.
Renal cell carcinoma is the most prevalent type of kidney cancer in adults. Kidney cancer can occur in other ways that are less common. Wilms’ tumor, a kind of kidney cancer, is more common in young children.
Symptoms and signs:
Most people don’t have any symptoms in the beginning stages. During an abdominal (belly) imaging test for other complaints, kidney cancer is typically discovered by chance. As the tumor grows, you might experience:
- Urine with blood in it.
- Discomfort in the lower back
- A lump in the side of the waist or lower back.
- Weight loss that is not explained, night sweats, fever, or fatigue.
Causes:
We don’t yet know what causes kidney cells to change and become cancerous.
We are aware that people with advanced age are more likely to develop kidney cancer. However, certain risk factors for kidney cancer exist.
Risk:
Anything that raises your risk of contracting a disease is a risk factor. Some risk factors can be changed, like smoking; however, some things can’t be changed, like your gender or your family history. Although having one or more risk factors does not guarantee that you will develop kidney cancer, it may raise your risk.
These are risk factors for kidney cancer:
- Smoking.
- Being obese (overweight).
- Hypertension.
- Gender approximately twice as many men as women get kidney cancer.
- Being treated for advanced chronic kidney disease via dialysis.
- Kidney cancer patients in the family.
- Use of phenacetin, a painkiller, for a long time.
- A few uncommon genetic conditions, including Birt Hogge Dube syndrome and von Hippel-Lindau disease.
- A history of prolonged exposure to cadmium or asbestos.
By avoiding risk factors that you can control, you may be able to lower your risk of kidney cancer. For instance, quitting smoking and controlling one’s weight and blood pressure may reduce the risk.
Kidney illness and kidney disease:
Cancer of the kidney and kidney disease are linked, according to studies.
Risk of kidney cancer:
According to some studies, people with renal Adenocarcinoma the disease may be more likely to develop kidney cancer because of:
Dialysis for a long time:
Long-term dialysis patients have a 5-fold increased risk of Grawitz Tumor, according to some studies. Experts believe that kidney disease rather than dialysis is the cause of this risk.
Anti-inflammatory medications:
You may be more likely to develop Grawitz Tumor if you take certain medicines to prevent rejection after a kidney transplant. However, if you have a transplant, it is essential to take your immunosuppressant medication. Your body will reject your new kidney without it.
Kidney disease has or will affect approximately one-third of the 300,000 Americans who have survived RCC.
Risk of kidney disease:
Radical nephrectomy is surgery to remove an entire kidney:
Because the tumor is so large and has destroyed most of the kidney, it may be necessary to remove the entire kidney. If cancer necessitates the removal of the entire kidney rather than just a portion, your risk of kidney disease increases. However, if the tumor is large or centrally located, removing the entire kidney is frequently preferable for survival. Partial nephrectomy is an operation that removes the tumor but not the entire kidney if the tumor is small. This approach diminishes the possibility creating constant kidney sickness and related issues with heart and vein illness.
Drugs that slow or stop cancer from growing:
Advanced kidney cancer is sometimes treated with drugs that spread throughout the body to kill cancer cells wherever they are. Every cancer drug has some side effects, some of which are referred to as “nephrotoxic.” The term “nephrotoxic” indicates that it may impair kidney function.
Keep in mind that not all people with RCC will develop Nephrocarcinoma disease. Similarly, kidney cancer does not affect everyone who has kidney disease or receives a transplant. Find out from your doctor how to lower your risk.
Prevention:
Tips for general prevention:
- Avoid smoking.
- Keep a healthy body weight.
- Find out if you are exposed to certain toxins at work or at home, like trichloroethylene, which may make you more likely to get kidney cancer, cadmium, or asbestos.
Maintain your kidneys:
Kidney cancer may be more likely to strike those with kidney disease:
- If you want to know your kidney score, talk to your doctor about two easy tests.
- GFR is a kidney function blood test.
- ACR is a urine test for kidney damage.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen should not be taken for an extended period of time.
- Control your blood pressure.
Consider the following risk factors:
- Kidney cancer history in the family
- You might be born with some diseases, like von Hippel-Lindau’s disease.
Types:
Carcinoma of the kidney:
In adults, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most prevalent type of kidney cancer. RCC typically begins in the lining of renal tubules, which are small tubes in the kidney. RCC usually stays in the kidney, but it can spread to the bones, lungs, or brain, among other parts of the body.
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma:
The most prevalent type of kidney cancer is clear cell renal cell carcinoma, also known as ccRCC or conventional renal cell carcinoma. The name clear cell renal cell carcinoma comes from the way the tumor looks when viewed through a microscope. The tumor’s cells appear to be clear, like bubbles.
Approximately 80% of all cases of renal cell carcinoma in adults are caused by ccRCC. Adults are more likely than children to develop ccRCC. Between 2% and 6% of kidney cancer cases in children and young adults are caused by renal cell carcinoma.
Types of rare kidney cancer:
Children, adolescents, and young adults are most frequently affected by rare kidney cancers.
Papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC):
- 15% of renal cell carcinomas worldwide.
- The kidney tubes are home to the tumor(s).
- Type 1 PRCC is more prevalent and develops gradually.
- Type 2 PRCC grows more quickly and is more aggressive.
Cancer of the kidney with a translocation (TRCC):
- Is responsible for between 1% and 5% of all renal cell carcinomas and 20% of cases in children.
- The kidney-located tumors.
- TRCC typically develops slowly and frequently without symptoms in children.
- TRCC is typically aggressive and rapidly growing in adults.
Non-cancerous benign kidney tumors:
Noncancerous kidney tumors, also known as benign tumors, typically do not pose a threat to life and do not grow in size. The most common treatment is surgery, and the majority of tumors return.
Adenoma of the renal papilla:
- Benign kidney tumor that occurs most frequently.
- The majority of the time, tumors do not cause symptoms and grow slowly.
- Most of the time, a coincidental finding on an imaging test was done for another reason.
Oncocytoma:
- Tumors can develop in either or both kidneys and begin in the cells of the collecting ducts.
- The tumors can grow to a very large size, starting at just over an inch (in a walnut) and growing to 4 inches (in a grapefruit).
Angiomyolipoma:
- Blood vessel and smooth muscle tissue cell overgrowth can also cause benign fatty tumors.
- Although they are not cancerous, tumors can grow to a very large size and destroy the tissue around them.
- Internal bleeding can occur from tumors that are larger than one and a half inches.
