Kidney Cancer

 Kidney cancer

   

   About the kidneys

   Each person has 2 kidneys, located on either side of the spine above the waist.  These reddish brown, bean-shaped limbs are each the size of a small fist.  They are located closer to the back of the body than to the front.

   The kidneys filter the blood to remove impurities, extra minerals and salts, and excess water.  Every day, the kidneys filter about 200 quarts of blood to produce 2 quarts of urine.  The kidneys also produce hormones that help control blood pressure, red blood cell production and other bodily functions.

   Most people have 2 kidneys.  Each kidney works independently.  This means that the body can function with less than 1 full kidney.  With dialysis, through a mechanized filtering process, it is possible to survive without kidney function.  Dialysis can be done with blood, called hemodialysis, or using the patient's abdominal cavity, called peritoneal dialysis.

   About kidney cancer

   Kidney cancer begins when healthy cells in one or both kidneys change and get out of control, leading to the formation of a mass called a renal cortical tumor.  A tumor can be malignant, benign, or benign.  A malignant tumor is cancer, meaning it can grow and spread to other parts of the body.  An endometrial tumor is also a cancer, but this type of tumor rarely spreads to other parts of the body.  A benign tumor means that the tumor may grow but not spread.

   Types of Kidney Cancer

   There are several types of kidney cancer:

   Renal cell carcinoma.  Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, diagnosing approximately 85%.  This type of cancer develops in the adjacent renal tubules that make up the kidney's filtration system.  Each kidney contains thousands of small filtration units.  The treatment options for renal cell carcinoma are discussed later in this guide.

   Urothelial carcinoma.  It is also called transient cell carcinoma.  It accounts for 5% to 10% of all kidney cancers diagnosed in adults.  Urothyl carcinoma begins in the part of the kidney where urine collects before entering the bladder, called renal pelvis.  This type of kidney cancer is treated like bladder cancer because both types of cancer start in the same cells that are in the pelvic and bladder line of the kidneys.

   Sarcoma Kidney sarcoma is rare.  This type of cancer develops in the soft tissues of the kidney.  A thin layer of connective tissue around the kidney, called a capsule;  Or the surrounding fat.  Kidney sarcoma is usually treated with surgery.  However, sarcoma usually returns to the kidney area or spreads to other parts of the body.  Further surgery or chemotherapy may be recommended after the first surgery.

   Wilms tumor Wilms tumor is most common in children and is treated differently from kidney cancer in adults.  Wilms tumors make up about 1% of kidney cancer.  This type of tumor is more likely to be successfully treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy than other types of kidney cancer combined with surgery.  As a result, a different approach to treatment has emerged.

   Lymphoma Lymphoma can enlarge both kidneys and is associated with enlarged lymph nodes in other parts of the body, including the neck, chest, and abdominal cavity, called lymphadenopathy.  In rare cases, renal lymphoma may appear as a single tumor mass in the kidney and may involve enlarged regional lymph nodes.  If lymphoma is possible, your doctor may perform a biopsy (see diagnosis) and prescribe chemotherapy instead of surgery.

   Types of Kidney Cancer Cells

   Finding out what type of cell causes a kidney tumor can help doctors plan treatment.  Pathologists have identified more than 30 different types of kidney cancer cells.  A pathologist is a doctor who specializes in interpreting laboratory tests and examining cells, tissues, and organs to diagnose the disease.  Computed tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (see diagnosis) may not always differentiate between benign, malignant, or malignant renal cortical tumors before surgery.

   The following are the most common types of kidney cancer cells.  In general, tumor size refers to the degree of differentiation of cells, not how fast they grow.  The difference is that the cancer cells look just like healthy cells.  The higher the grade, the more likely it is that cells will proliferate or metastasize over time.

   Clean the cell.  About 70% of kidney cancers are made up of clean cells.  Clean cells range from slow-growing (grade 1) to fast-growing (grade 4).  Immunotherapy and targeted therapy (see Types of treatments) are particularly effective in treating clear cell kidney cancer.

   Papillary papillary kidney cancer is found in 10% to 15% of patients.  It is divided into 2 different subtypes, called type 1 and type 2.  Localized papillary kidney cancer is often treated with surgery.  If papillary kidney cancer spreads or metastasizes, it is often treated with blood vessel clogging agents.  The use of immunotherapy to treat metastatic papillary cancer is still being researched.  Many doctors recommend a clinical trial for metastatic papillary cancer.

   Sarcomatid properties.  Each of the subtypes of kidney cancer tumors (clear cell, chromophobic, and papillary, among others) can show highly irregular features under the microscope.  They are often described by pathologists as "sarcomatid".  This is not a separate tumor subtype, but when these features are looked at, doctors find that it is a very aggressive form of kidney cancer.  There is promising scientific research for immunotherapy treatment options for people with tumors with sarcomatid properties.  More recently, they include combinations of ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo), as well as atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin).

   Medullary is a rare and highly invasive cancer but is still considered a renal cortical tumor.  It is more common in black people and is related to scale cell disease or scale cell characteristic.  The scale cell trait means that a person inherits the scale cell gene from their parents.  The combination of chemotherapy with blood vessel blockers is currently being proposed as a treatment option based on some scientific data, and clinical trials are underway to better explain treatment decisions.

   Collective tract: Collective tract carcinoma is more common in people aged 20 to 30 years.  It starts with the kidney's collecting ducts.  Therefore, the accumulation of ductal carcinoma is closely related to transitional cell carcinoma (see "urothelial carcinoma" above).  It is a difficult cancer that can be successfully treated in the long run, even with a combination of systemic chemotherapy and surgery.

   Chromophobe Chromophobe is another rare cancer that can form abnormal tumors that are unlikely to spread but are aggressive if they do.  Clinical trials are underway to find the best treatment for this type of cancer.

   Oncocytoma is a slow-growing type of kidney cancer that rarely, if ever, spreads.  The treatment of choice is surgery for large, heavy tumors.

   Angiomyolipoma is a benign tumor that has a unique shape when viewed on a CT scan and under a microscope.  In general, it is less likely to grow and spread.  It is usually treated with surgery or, if it is minor, with active supervision (see Types of treatment).  Significant bleeding is a rare occurrence but is more likely in pregnant and premenopausal women.  An aggressive form of angiomyolipoma, called epithelioid, can rarely invade the renal vein and inferior vena cava and spread to nearby lymph nodes or organs, such as the liver.