Condition
Kidney cancer
As with all tumors of the urinary tract, early diagnosis of kidney cancer makes the difference when it comes to offering the patient a definitive treatment. With high-definition ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI, renal tumors are increasingly detected at an earlier stage, when conservative surgical management is more viable.
Why does early diagnosis matter?
With the availability of high-definition ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI, renal tumors are increasingly diagnosed at an earlier stage than in previous decades. According to the world literature, any solid kidney mass detected by ultrasound is considered renal cancer until proven otherwise.
Does it cause symptoms?
In its initial stages, kidney cancer causes no symptoms. Only when the disease is advanced can signs such as these be noticed:
- Blood in the urine
- Weight loss
- A palpable mass in the abdomen
- Abdominal pain
How is it treated?
Today's standard of care for a renal mass is nephron-sparing nephrectomy: whenever possible, if the tumor's size and the patient's condition allow it, only the area of the kidney affected by the tumor is removed, leaving the rest of the organ healthy. In some cases, due to the tumor's size, a radical nephrectomy is necessary (removing the entire kidney). Other options for localized kidney cancer are observation in very select cases and thermal ablation with cold or heat. Renal tumors do not respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy: they only respond to surgical treatment.
