Kidney Cancer
The kidneys remove waste and extra water from the blood (as urine) and help keep chemicals (such as sodium, potassium, and calcium) balanced in the body.
Types
Clear Cell Carcinoma
Papillary Carcinoma
Chromophobe
Causes
Smoking | Tobacco
Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
Obesity
Long duration of Pain killers like aspirin, acetaminophen, brufen
Cadmium exposure
Chronic kidney disease | kidney stone
Family history are high risk
Symptoms
Vague pain in abdomen
Lump in abdomen
Fever
Haematuria
Weight Loss
Diagnosis / Tests Required
Ct scan is most common diagnostic method.
Biopsy is performed when scan is doubtful.
CT Chest and abdomen, Bone scan, PET scan is done to find out spread.
What is the treatment for kidney cancer ?
Kidney cancer is chemo/Radio Resistant. Early tumors in stage 1 are often incidentally diagnosed and have very good chances of cure. Only curative treatment is surgery.
Partial Nephrectomy
- During a partial nephrectomy, only the cancerous tumor or diseased tissue is removed (center), leaving in place as much healthy kidney tissue as possible.
- Partial nephrectomy is also called kidney-sparing surgery.
Radical Nephrectomy
- When tumor is largeremoval of total kidney with lymph nodes is done.
- You may need vascular surgeon’s help if tumor spreading along renal vein into inferior vena cava (large blood vessel which carry blood from body to heart).
Laproscopic Nephrectomy
- Both Partial, Radicle can be done laproscopically. Below are few of its advantages:
- Avoidance of potential bowel complications after surgery.
- Reduced hospital stay (one day in younger, healthy patients) and faster healing.
- Less postoperative pain and less need for pain medication.
- Quicker return to normal activity and work.
- Smaller incisions and less scarring.
Cytoreductive Nephrectomy
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When the spread is limited, to decrease tumor burden, nephrectomy is done so that targeted therapy can act more efficiently.
Targeted Therapy
- Renal tumor is not responding to chemotherapy.
- It responds to immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
- Targeted therapy are drugs given orally which act only on cancer cell without affecting normal cells hence side effect of chemotherapy are not there.
Radiotherapy
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If there is tumor spillage at the time of surgery, radiotherapy is given to decrease chance of recurrence.