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August 1, 2025
Being the 14th most common cancer in the world among two hundred or more cancers that have been found, kidney cancer patients is found to be increasing every year these days. The number is increasing mostly due to the greater advancement of body scans, such as PET scans and CT scans. Now, what is kidney cancer, what are the symptoms, what are the causes, and how are they treated?
According to Mayo Clinic, kidney cancer starts in the kidney, a two bean shaped organ located behind the abdominal organs. There are different types of kidney cancer and different ones that are common depending on age. Among the adults, renal cell carcinoma is found to be the most common and among young children, Wilms tumor is found to be the most common.
Kidney cancers do not have clear symptoms at first and can be mistaken for simple stomach illnesses. The symptoms consist of basic, common pain. However, as the cancer grows and develops, the symptoms may develop, leading to: blood in the urine that can appear in pink, red, of coke colors, loss of appetite, pain in the side or back that lasts for a long time, tiredness, and unexplained weight loss.
Kidney cancer’s causes are not clear and are still being studied, but it happens when cells in the kidney go through changes in the DNA. The Mayo Clinic stated that kidney cancer happens as the cells malfunction in communication and live for a longer amount of time than expected, therefore piling up and creating a tumor. A cell’s DNA carries instructions for the cells about what they should do, but in cancer cells, the DNA changes will change and give different instructions. This will make the cancer cells make many more cells at a faster rate, which causes a problem where the healthy cells will die off at the right time, but the cancer cells will be left in the kidney even after the healthy cells are gone. The tumor created from the piled-up cancer cells will destroy healthy body tissue, and as time goes on, these cells will spread to other parts of the body, causing metastatic cancer. Although cancer is something that is unexpected and surprising, there are some people who can have risk factors related to kidney cancer, such as older age, smoking tobacco, obesity, high blood pressure, certain inherited conditions, or a family history of kidney cancer.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, kidney cancer can be found in different ways, such as urinalysis, blood tests, CT scan, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and renal mass biopsy. The Urologic Cancer program in the Stanford Medical Center states that they provide treatment based on the patient's condition and state of cancer, which includes laparoscopic and robotic surgery, radiation therapy, and leading-edge medical therapies.
Although there are no exact or direct preventions for kidney cancer or any other types of cancer, Cleveland Clinic prodivdes simple guides to stay away from the risk that can be done in daily life such as drink alcohol in moderation, eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise most days of the week, maintain a healthy weight, stop smoking, and control high blood pressure.
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