What is renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is also called hypernephroma, renal adenocarcinoma, or renal or kidney cancer. It’s the most common kind of kidney cancer found in adults.

The kidneys are organs in your body that help get rid of waste while also regulating fluid balance. There are tiny tubes in the kidneys called tubules. These help filter the blood, aid in excreting waste, and help make urine. RCC occurs when cancer cells start growing uncontrollably in the lining of the tubules of the kidney.

RCC is a fast-growing cancer and often spreads to the lungs and surrounding organs.

医学专家不知道RCC的确切原因。It’s most commonly found in men between the ages of 50 and 70 but can be diagnosed in anyone.

There are some risk factors for the disease, including:

  • family history of RCC
  • dialysistreatment
  • hypertension
  • obesity
  • smoking cigarettes
  • polycystic kidney disease(an inherited disorder that causes cysts to form in the kidneys)
  • the genetic condition Von Hippel-Lindau disease (characterized by cysts and tumors in various organs)
  • chronic abuse of certain prescribed and over-the-counter medications such asnonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugsused to treatarthritis, and medications for fever and pain relief such as acetaminophen

When RCC is in its early stages, patients may be symptom-free. As the disease progresses, symptoms may include:

  • a lump in the abdomen
  • blood in the urine
  • unexplained weight loss
  • loss of appetite
  • fatigue
  • vision problems
  • persistent pain in the side
  • excessive hair growth (in women)

If your doctor suspects that you may have RCC, they’ll ask about your personal and family medical history. They’ll then do a physical exam. Findings that can indicate RCC include swelling or lumps in the abdomen, or, in men, enlarged veins in the scrotal sac (varicocele).

If RCC is suspected, your doctor will order a number of tests to get an accurate diagnosis. These may include:

  • complete blood count—a blood test conducted by drawing blood from your arm and sending it to a lab for evaluation
  • CT scan—an imaging test that allows your doctor to take a closer look at your kidneys to detect any abnormal growth
  • abdominal and kidney ultrasounds—a test that uses sound waves to create a picture of your organs, allowing your doctor to look for tumors and problems within the abdomen
  • urine examination—tests used to detect blood in the urine and to analyze cells in the urine looking for evidence of cancer
  • biopsy— the removal of a small piece of kidney tissue, done by inserting a needle into the tumor and drawing out a tissue sample, which is then sent to a pathology lab to rule out or confirm the presence of cancer

If you are found to have RCC, more tests will be done to find out if and where the cancer has spread. This is called staging. RCC is staged from stage 1 to stage 4, in order of ascending severity. Staging tests can include abone scan,PET scan, and chestX-ray.

Approximatelyone-thirdof individuals with RCC have cancer that has spread at the time of diagnosis.

There are five kinds of standard treatments for RCC. One or more may be used to treat your cancer.

  1. Surgerycan include different types of procedures. During a partial nephrectomy, part of the kidney is removed. During a nephrectomy, the entire kidney may be removed. Depending on how far the disease has spread, more extensive surgery may be needed to remove surrounding tissue, lymph nodes, and your adrenal gland. This is a radical nephrectomy. If both kidneys are removed,dialysisor a transplant is necessary.
  2. Radiation therapyinvolves using high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. The radiation can be given externally by a machine or placed internally using seeds or wires.
  3. Chemotherapyuses drugs to kill cancer cells. It can be given orally or intravenously, depending on what medication is chosen. This allows the drugs to go through the bloodstream and reach cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body.
  4. Biologic therapy, also called immunotherapy, works with your immune system to attack the cancer. Enzymes or substances made by the body are used to defend your body against the cancer.
  5. Targeted therapyis a newer kind of cancer therapy. Drugs are used to attack certain cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. Some drugs work on blood vessels to prevent blood flow to the tumor, “starving” and shrinking it.

Clinical trials are another option for some patients with RCC. Clinical trials test new treatments to see if they are effective in treating the disease. During the trial, you’ll be closely monitored, and you can leave the trial at any time. Talk with your treatment team to see if a clinical trial is a viable option for you.

The outlook after being diagnosed with RCC depends largely on whether the cancer has spread and how soon treatment is started. The sooner it’s caught, the more likely you are to have a full recovery.

If the cancer has spread to other organs, the survival rate is much lower than if it’s caught before spreading.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rate for RCC is over 70 percent . This means that over two-thirds of those diagnosed with RCC live at least five years after their diagnosis.

如果癌症是治愈或治疗,你可能仍然have to live with long-term effects of the disease, which can include poor kidney function.

If a kidney transplant is done, chronic dialysis may be required as well as long-term drug therapy.