Kidney Cancer

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kidney cancer

Kidneys, one on each side of the spine, are located on each side of the spine and their main function is to remove metabolic waste from the body through urine and to ensure the balance of minerals in the blood. Kidneys help maintain the body's fluid balance. kidney cancer, A mass or tumor occurs in the kidney as a result of the tissues that perform their functions losing their functions and growing and multiplying. Although it is not known exactly why kidney cancer occurs, the most important factors that increase the risk of cancer are smoking and obesity. However, a person whose family has had kidney cancer before has a higher risk of developing this cancer.

It is a type of cancer that progresses silently without any symptoms in the first stage. It has been observed that kidney cancer occurs in one in every 10 cancer diagnoses. Since kidney cancer progresses very slowly, regular health checks can save lives. People over the age of 50 have an increased risk of cancer. Men are more likely to get this cancer than women. It can be seen in people who consume too much alcohol and cigarettes. It is more likely to occur in people with high blood pressure. Obesity too kidney cancer is seen as the cause.

What Do Kidneys Do?

Part of the excretory system The kidneys are bean-shaped and intra-abdominal, with one on each side of the spine organs behind They are found. Kidneys have four main functions in our body. These:
  1. They help maintain water balance in the body.
  2. They provide control of blood pressure.
  3. They ensure that metabolic wastes such as uric acid, creatinine and urea are eliminated from the body through urine.
  4. It contributes to the production of blood cells in the bone marrow thanks to the hormones it secretes.

Risk Factors for Kidney Cancer

Risk factors for kidney cancer Although it is not known exactly, there are some risk factors that trigger the formation of cancer. These risk factors can be listed as follows;

  • Obesity,
  • high blood pressure,
  • Having kidney disease
  • smoking and drinking alcohol,
  • High blood pressure (hypertension),
  • undergoing dialysis for a long time,
  • People working in asbestos and cadmium business,
  • People with a previous history of kidney cancer in their first-degree relatives,
  • People over 50 are more likely to get this disease. These together are men's kidney cancer The probability of occurrence is twice as high for women.

What are the symptoms?

kidney cancer Since it is a latent and slowly progressing disease, it does not show any symptoms in the early stages. However, as it progresses, some symptoms appear. These symptoms are:

  • Stomach ache,
  • Weakness,
  • Anorexia,
  • Anemia,
  • Hematuria (blood in the urine),
  • Palpable mass in the abdomen,
  • Involuntary weight loss and emaciation,
  • Unreasonable high fever,
  • It can be listed as lower back pain and swelling in the waist.
Kidney Cancer

How to Diagnose?

In the diagnosis of kidney cancer, first the patient's medical history is listened to and then a physical examination is performed. During the physical examination, the doctor usually checks whether there is a mass that can be felt in the abdomen and around the kidney.
 
After a physical examination, blood tests, urine analysis and imaging methods are used. Urinalysis is important because occult blood may be seen in the urine of some patients.
 
Imaging methods are very effective in diagnosing small tumors. In most patients who use imaging methods for another reason, kidney cancer can be diagnosed incidentally and at an early stage. Therefore, having regular health checks is very important for early diagnosis.
 
kidney cancer Imaging methods used in diagnosis are ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MRI). In some cases, medical professionals may order positron emission tomography (PET), angiography, bone scans, chest x-ray, urography (IVP), and scans in addition to images taken with contrast.
 
Using these methods, information such as the size, shape, location of the tumor and whether it has metastasized is obtained.

Treatment Methods

The treatment plan is determined according to the patient's general health, stage and type of cancer. The first choice method is surgical intervention. Depending on the condition of the tumor, a part of the kidney can be removed by partial nephrectomy, or the kidney containing the tumor can be completely removed by radical nephrectomy. In addition, treatment methods such as ablation, cryotherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy may also be preferred.

How is it treated? What are the Stages of Cancer?

After lesions indicating kidney cancer are identified, the stage of the cancer is determined by CT and other imaging methods and a treatment plan is created according to the spread of cancer cells.

Stage 1
Patients in the first stage usually do not have any symptoms and the growth rate of the tumor is slow. In addition, in stage 1, the size of the tumor in the kidney is smaller than 7 cm.
 
Stage 2
At this stage, the tumor size is larger than 7 cm. The tumor, which is usually located in the kidney, can sometimes be seen in the tissues surrounding the kidney.
 
Stage 3
At this stage, the size of the tumor is not clear as cancer cells begin to spread from the kidney to the lymph nodes. In stage 3, the patient may have symptoms such as pain and fever.
 
Stage 4
Metastasis is seen in the 4th stage. Cancer cells have spread to tissues outside the kidney and many lymph nodes, as well as to areas such as the liver, lungs, and bones. Spread of the tumor to body parts other than the kidney can cause serious discomfort.
 
The main treatment of kidney cancer consists of surgery. The most common type of surgery is radical nephrectomy. In this operation, the kidney and all surrounding tissues are removed. In addition, in small tumors located in only a part of the kidney or in people with a single kidney, instead of removing the tumor, a procedure called partial nephrectomy is performed in which only the tumor tissue is removed. This procedure cannot be performed on all kidney tumors.
 
If the disease has spread to the lungs or large vessels, intervention in these areas may be required. Since kidney tumor surgery is a major surgery and not everyone can handle it, the decision for surgery should be made by the doctor, the patient and the patient's relatives.
 
Chemotherapy means giving drugs given to cancer patients orally or intravenously. Improvements in kidney tumors can be achieved with new chemotherapeutic drugs developed today.
 
In radiotherapy, cancer cells are killed and destroyed with radiation rays. Radiation therapy is used as an additional treatment in people who have undergone surgery or as a primary treatment in people whose general condition cannot tolerate surgical treatment.. It is also used in the treatment of conditions such as bleeding and pain caused by the spread (metastasis) of cancers in the advanced stages.
 
Kidney tumors are one of the cancers that have a high chance of cure when diagnosed early. It is one of the diseases that requires urgent intervention for diagnosis and treatment even in suspicious cases.
kidney cancer
Post Treatment Control
After treatment, the body needs time to recover. Sometime after the surgery, side effects such as tingling in the hands and feet, pain, numbness, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue may occur. In this case, the doctor must be informed. In addition, post-treatment health checks should not be neglected for protection. Care should be taken to adhere to healthy lifestyle criteria such as nutrition, exercise and reducing stress, and smoking should definitely be avoided.
How to Protect Kidneys?
Drinking enough water and limiting salt intake is important for kidney health. Unnecessary painkillers can cause serious problems in kidney function. We must also control our blood pressure to protect our kidneys. High blood pressure damages the kidneys. Diabetes negatively affects kidney health by damaging the vascular structure of the kidneys. Therefore, controlling blood pressure, drinking plenty of water, limiting salty foods, not consuming unnecessary or uncontrolled painkillers, and controlling diabetes are important factors for kidney health.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kidney Cancer

1-What is Kidney Cancer Metastasis?

Tumors that form in the kidneys can spread to other organs or lymph nodes. This is called metastatic disease. In metastatic disease, tumors in the kidney are called primary tumors, and tumors in other organs are called metastatic tumors.

2-Will Cancer Completely Disappear?

One-third of cancers are completely cured. Complete recovery is not possible in diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease. However, many cancers are completely curable and the number of these cancers is increasing day by day.

3-Does Kidney Tumor Recur?

Kidney cancer is one of the cancers that have the potential to recur. During the examination, blood tests, chest X-ray, kidney tomography and ultrasound are used.

4-What Kills Cancer Cells?

Current treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy, are based on a method known as apoptosis. In this method, cancer cells are killed by activating proteins called caspases.

5-What Causes Kidney Tumor?

As with all cancers, one of the main causes of kidney cancer is smoking. Excess weight increases the formation of cancer cells. Excessive fat in the body leads to deterioration of kidney functions and increases the risk of developing kidney cancer.

6-Does Kidney Tumor Cause Pain?

Nowadays, kidney cancers can be detected without any symptoms in imaging studies performed for other reasons. It usually has no symptoms. Rarely, hematuria (blood in the urine) and pain may occur. The worrying thing about pain in kidney cancer is that the cancer has come a long way.
 

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