Understanding about kidney cancer

Kidney cancer is malignant cancer in the kidney cells. As March month is kidney cancer awareness month and being a dedicated doctor for promoting kidney health, here are few key factors regarding kidney cancer.

What is kidney cancer ?

As in other body cancers, kidney cancer is the malignant conversion of the kidney cells leading to development of cancer. The most common type of kidney cancer is adenocarcinoma.

Who are prone to develop the kidney cancer ?

Kidney cancer often develops in elderly person with male having higher risk than females. The most common risk factors for development of kidney cancer is hypertension, obesity and tobacco consumption. Beside these, there are various hereditary, familial cases of kidney cancer.

What are symptoms of kidney cancer?

Most kidney cancer remain asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally on imaging of abdomen done for some other reason. When symptoms do develop, these are often hematuria, flank pain. Other symptoms may include palpable lump, anemia, fatigue etc. Development of symptoms suggests the advanced nature of disease.

How to confirm the diagnosis of kidney cancer ?

The definitive diagnosis of kidney cancer can be reliably made by contrast CT scan. Staging can also be done with the help of CT scan.

What is the treatment of kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer if localised (within the kidney itself) can be best treated with the surgery. It can be complete removal of kidney along with all of its surrounding layers or ot can be removal of kidney tumor portion only and saving the rest of the kidney called partial nephrectomy. If the disease is advanced, often surgery is combined with the use of certain medical therapies.

What is prognosis of kidney cancer patient ?

If early stage and localisef within the kidney, the surgery gives the cure of the disease and excellent long term survival.

Whom to consult for kidney related tumor?

You can meet your nearby urologist or Surgical oncologist for the treatment of kidney tumors.