RENAL CELL CARCINOMA
Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer. Cancer cells are found in the lining of very small tubes (tubules) in the kidney. It is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults.
Alternative Names
Adenocarcinoma of renal cell kidney cancer, hypernephroma, renal cancer
Causes and Risk Factors
Renal cell carcinoma affects about 3 in 10,000 people, which means about 32,000 new cases per year in the U.S.. Each year, about 12,000 people in the U.S. die from renal cell carcinoma. It is more common in people between 50 and 70 years of age and usually affects men.
There is no known exact cause.
Among the risk factors include:
- Smoking
- Genetic factors
- Family history of disease
- Dialysis
The von Hippel-Lindau disease, an inherited disease that affects the capillaries of the brain.
The first symptom is usually the presence of blood in the urine. Sometimes both kidneys are affected. The cancer spreads easily, most often to the lungs and other organs. About a third of patients have disease spread ( metastases ) at diagnosis.
Symptoms
- Blood in urine
- Abnormal urine color (dark, rusty, or brown)
- Flank pain
- Back pain
- Abdominal pain
- Involuntary weight loss , more than 5% of body weight
- Emaciated, thin, malnourished
- Enlargement of a testicle
- Swelling or enlargement of the abdomen