Kidney cancer

Kidney cancer

Kidney cancer is the sixth most common cancer diagnosed in Australian men and eleventh most common cancer in women.1

The most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma, accounting for about 90% of all cases. Usually only one kidney is affected, but in rare cases the cancer may develop in both kidneys.

Incidence and mortality

There were 2,847 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed in Australia in 2011. Kidney cancer is more common in men - the risk of being diagnosed by age 85 is 1 in 51 for men compared to 1 in 104 for women.

In 2012, there were 907 deaths resulting from kidney cancer in Australia.

Screening

There is no routine screening test for kidney cancer.

Symptoms and diagnosis

In its early stages, kidney cancer often does not produce any symptoms.

Symptoms may include:

blood in the urine (haematuria)

pain or a dull ache in the side or lower back that is not due to an injury

a lump in the abdomen

constant tiredness

rapid, unexplained weight loss

fever not caused by a cold or flu.

Tests to diagnose kidney cancer include:

urine test

cytoscopy

blood tests

imaging tests - ultrasound, chest x-ray, CT scan, MRI, PET scan or bone scan, intravenous pyelography.

Staging

A CT scan, bone (radioisotope) scan and chest x-ray are done to determine the extent of the cancer.

The most common staging system used for kidney cancer is the TNM system, which describes the stage of the cancer from stage I to stage IV.

Causes

The causes of kidney cancer are not known, but factors that put some people at higher risk are:

smoking

overuse of pain relievers containing phenacetin (this chemical is now banned)

workplace exposure to asbestos or cadmium (construction workers, dock workers, painters and printers)

a family history of kidney cancer

being male: men are more likely to develop kidney cancer than women.

Prevention

Not smoking or quitting smoking. Up to one third of kidney cancers are thought to be due to smoking.

Treatment

The main treatment for kidney cancer is surgery, alone or with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

A radical nephrectomy (removal of the affected kidney) is the most common type of surgery for renal cell carcinoma. A partial nephrectomy (removal of part of the kidney) may be an option for people who have a small tumour in one kidney (less than 4cm), people with cancer in both kidneys and those who have only one working kidney.

Immunotherapy is a treatment option for people with kidney cancer metastases. Cytokines (proteins that activate the immune system) can be given intravenously or orally, and may shrink the cancer.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been trialled in people with advanced kidney cancer and found to cause fewer side-effects than chemotherapy drugs.

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Will avoiding meat reduce risk of kidney cancer?

The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer in adults, has been increasing in the US and other developed nations.

Previous studies have linked meat intake with an increased risk of RCC. The underlying mechanism for the association remains unclear, but cooking meat at high temperatures, particularly barbecuing or pan-frying, has been found to result in the formation and ingestion of carcinogenic compounds.

The kidney plays a significant role in the metabolism of xenobiotics, substances normally alien to the body, such as drugs, pesticides or carcinogens, and is therefore exposed to higher concentrations of cancer-causing substances than other organs.

Meat cooked at high temperatures produces carcinogens

A team led by Dr. Xifeng Wu, PhD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, suspected that factors related to a Western lifestyle - such as a diet high in meats, processed foods and starches - may significantly impact the development of RCC.

They set out to investigate the effect of genetic factors and dietary intake of meat-cooking mutagens, such as MeIQx and PhIP, on RCC risk. An analysis was carried out of 659 patients with newly diagnosed RCC and 699 healthy controls.

Compared with cancer-free individuals, patients with kidney cancer were found to consume more red and white meat; they also consumed more cancer-causing chemicals, produced by cooking meat at high temperatures or over an open flame, particularly when pan-frying or barbecuing.

People with RCC were also found to have an overall higher daily total energy intake and lower overall total fruit and vegetable intake.

Fast facts about kidney cancer

In 2005, more than 36,000 people were diagnosed with kidney cancer in the US

In 2014, there were over 50,000 diagnoses

There are currently 200,000 kidney cancer survivors in the US.

Learn more about kidney cancer

Ingestion of MelQx would seem to nearly double the risk of RCC, and intake of PhIP increases it by 54%. This suggests that eating meat cooked at high temperatures increases the risk of RCC through mechanisms related to mutagenic cooking compounds.

A significant interaction was noted between PhIP and at least one genetic feature, implying that individuals with certain genetic variants are more susceptible to the harmful effects of these cancer-causing chemicals.

Limitations of the current study include the possibility of residual confounding by unknown risk factors and the difficulty of isolating the impacts of the mutagenic compounds, due to the complex interaction of individual components and nutrients in whole foods.

Nevertheless, the findings suggest that reducing meat consumption, especially when cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame, could serve as a public health intervention to reduce the risk of developing RCC. In addition, genetic testing might help to identify individuals at especially high risk.

Medical News Today recently published findings linking a drug commonly used for heartburn with kidney cancer.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrMRO075WW4[/embed]

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Kidney  cancer

Kidney (renal cell) cancer originates mainly from proximal tubular epithelial cells, but also from cells from intercalated and medullary collecting ducts. There are multiple types of kidney cancer, but clear cell renal cell carcinoma is the most common (around 85%). The histological subgroups are chromophobe and papillary renal cell carcinoma, often with a percentage of malignant mesenchymal cells (sarcomatoid differentiation) (2).

cancer,Kidney cancer,cancer

 

cancer,Kidney cancer,cancer

Incidence

In 2013, there were 760 new cases of kidney cancer registered in Norway, of which 533 were men and 227 women. Kidney cancer occurs most commonly in the age group 50–70 years, and constitutes about 3% of the total number of newly diagnosed cancer cases. The incidence is more common in men than women (1).

From 1957 to 2012, a gradual increase in incidence of kidney cancer has been registered in Norway, especially among men. The increase is considered genuine despite correction for the improvement in diagnostics due to CT and ultrasound (2).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM9UBHddVeI[/embed]

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