Kidney cancer

Studies show that kidney cancer may be more likely in people who have kidney disease. And kidney disease may be more likely in people who have had kidney cancer. In either case, your team of health care providers from Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic will help you figure out your risk factors and provide an individual approach to your treatment for kidney cancer.

What is kidney cancer?

Your two kidneys are fist-sized organs on either side of your backbone above your waist. The tubes inside filter and clean your blood, taking out waste products and making urine. Kidney cancer often starts in the lining of the tiny tubes inside your kidneys.

Symptoms of kidney cancer

You may have no symptoms of kidney cancer at first. They may appear as the cancer grows. Some common symptoms of kidney cancer are:

• A lump or mass in your side or abdomen
• Blood in your urine (which may make urine look rusty or darker red)
• Fever
• Feeling very tired
• Loss of appetite
• Pain in your side that doesn’t go away
• Weight loss for no known reason

These symptoms may be caused by kidney cancer or by other health problems, such as an infection or a kidney cyst. People with these potential symptoms of kidney cancer should tell their doctor so that any problem can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Risk factors for kidney cancer

Kidney cancer is more common in older people and in people who’ve overused pain medications for a long time. Some other risk factors for kidney cancer include:

• Smoking: People who smoke have a higher risk than nonsmokers, and the risk increases for those who smoke more cigarettes or for a long time.
• Obesity: Being obese increases the risk of kidney cancer.
• High blood pressure: Having high blood pressure may increase the risk of kidney cancer.
• Family history of kidney cancer: People with a family member who had kidney cancer have a slightly increased risk of the disease. Also, certain conditions that run in families can increase the risk of kidney cancer.
• Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome: VHL is a rare disease that runs in some families. It’s caused by changes in the VHL gene. People with a changed VHL gene have an increased risk of kidney cancer. They may also have cysts or tumors in the eyes, brain or other parts of the body. Family members of those with VHL can have a test to check for a changed VHL gene.

Many people who get kidney cancer have none of these risk factors, and many people who have known risk factors don’t develop the disease.

Diagnosis of kidney cancer

If you have symptoms that suggest kidney cancer, your doctor will try to find out what’s causing the problems. You may have a physical exam. You may also have one or more of the following tests:

• Urine tests, which check for blood and other signs of disease.
• Blood tests, which check for several substances, such as creatinine. A high level of creatinine may mean the kidneys aren’t doing their job.
• Ultrasound, whichuses sound waves that can’t be heard by humans. The sound waves make a pattern of echoes as they bounce off organs inside your abdomen and create a picture of your kidney and nearby tissues. The picture can show a kidney tumor.
• CT scan, which is created by an X-ray machine linked to a computer that takes a series of detailed pictures of your abdomen. You may receive an injection of contrast material so your urinary tract and lymph nodes show up clearly in the pictures. The CT scan can show cancer in the kidneys, lymph nodes, or elsewhere in the abdomen.
• MRI, which is an image produced by a large machine with a strong magnet linked to a computer that’s used to make detailed pictures of your urinary tract and lymph nodes. You may receive an injection of contrast material. MRI can show cancer in your kidneys, lymph nodes or other tissues in the abdomen.
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP), which is an injection of dye into a vein in your arm prior to X-ray. The dye travels through the body and collects in your kidneys. The dye makes them show up on X-rays. A series of X-rays then tracks the dye as it moves through your kidneys to your ureters and bladder. The X-rays can show a kidney tumor or other problems.
• Biopsy, or removal of tissue to look for cancer cells is a biopsy. In some cases, your doctor will do a biopsy to diagnose kidney cancer. Your doctor inserts a thin needle through your skin into the kidney to remove a small sample of tissue.
• Surgery to remove part or all of a kidney tumor. After surgery, a pathologist can make the final diagnosis by checking the tissue under a microscope for cancer cells.

Treatment of kidney cancer

Treatment depends on your age, your overall health and how advanced the cancer is.

Common treatment options for people with kidney cancer are surgery, targeted therapy and biological therapy. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells while biologic therapy boosts your body’s own ability to fight cancer. You may receive more than one type of treatment, and your Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic care team will tailor treatment to your individual case.

The treatment that’s right for you depends mainly on:

• The size of the tumor
• Whether the tumor has invaded tissues outside your kidney
• Whether the tumor has spread to other parts of your body
• Your age and general health

Surgery is the most common treatment for people with kidney cancer. The type of surgery depends on the size and stage of the cancer, whether you have two kidneys, and whether cancer was found in both kidneys.

Specialists who treat kidney cancer

You may have a team of specialists to help plan your kidney cancer treatment. Your doctor may refer you to a specialist, or you may ask for a referral.

You may want to see a urologist, a surgeon who specializes in treating problems of the urinary tract. Other specialists who treat kidney cancer include urologic oncologists (surgeons who specialize in cancers of the urinary tract), medical oncologists and radiation oncologists.

Side effects of kidney cancer treatment

Because some cancer treatments damage healthy cells and tissues, side effects are common. Before treatment starts, ask your care team about possible side effects and how treatment may change your normal activities. You and your health care team can work together to develop a treatment plan that meets your needs.

Recovery from treatment for kidney cancer

You’ll need regular checkups after treatment for kidney cancer. Checkups help ensure that any changes in your health are noted and treated if needed.

Kidney cancer may come back after treatment. Your doctor will check for return of cancer. Checkups may include blood tests, a chest X-ray, CT scans, or an ultrasound.