Renal Cell Carcinoma

By Author: MorrowJason.L
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Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer that develops within the small tubules of the kidney that are responsible for filtering blood and waste products. It is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, representing 90 percent of all kidney cancer types. An estimated 58,000 people were diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 2010 with more than half of them being men. It is the 10th leading cause of cancer death in men. Since 1975, the number of reported kidney cancer cases has risen 2 percent annually. Fortunately, survival rates have improved over the last 40 years with newer and better treatment methods.

Although researchers are not certain of the exact causes of renal cell carcinoma, they have determined that it is the result of several factors which include: lifestyle habits, occupational exposure, genetically inherited disorders related to blood flow and the kidney, and a family history of renal cell carcinoma.

Lifestyle factors that might lead to kidney cancer include smoking, obesity, high calorie non-nutricious diet, and lack of physical exercise. Men and women who work in the iron, and steel ...
... industries, as well as chemical and asbestos related environments have seen higher reported cases of kidney cancer. Another main factor which has been correlated with renal cell carcinoma is some specific medical conditions that are inherited. A higher reported incident rate of kidney cancer has been reported in patients who also have these conditions.

* Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) Disease:
* Hereditary Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma:
* Birt-Hogg-Dube Syndrome:
* Hereditary Leiomyomatosis Renal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome:
* Hereditary Renal Oncocytoma:
* Polycystic Kidney Disease:

The problem with renal cell carcinoma is there is a lack of noticeable symptoms in the early stages. Even so, there have been improved diagnosis methods are detecting this type of cancer earlier. An awareness of common symptoms can aid in an earlier diagnosis and treatment outcome. The most common symptoms of renal cell carcinoma include:

* Painless urination of blood occurs in approximately 50 percent of patients.
* Sudden, unexplained weightloss.
* Pain in the sides, near where kidneys are located.
* Presence of a hard mass, growth or lump on the sides of the abdominal cavity are noticed in 45 percent of renal cell patients.
* Fever occurs in 10 percent of patients.
* Anemia occurs in about 20 percent of patients.
* High blood pressure.

The treatment options for renal cell carcinoma patients include surgery, arterial embolization, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and biological therapy. Targeted and immunotherapy are two treatment options growing in favor for two reasons. First, renal cell carcinoma doesn't respond as well to chemotherapy and radiation as it does for other cancers, second, doctors want to avoid any partial or total removal of the kidneys at all costs.

Targeted therapy is a broad-based term used to describe a new class of drugs that seek to stop or inhibit the growth (dividing process) of new cancer cells by interfering with specific molecules that "signal" for new cancer cells to grow and develop. Since targeted therapy drugs are directed only at the molecules that "allow" the process of creating cancer cells, they generally do not harm healthy cells in the way that chemotherapy and radiation does, and is generally considered less harmful with side-effects than chemotherapy and radiation. The two targeted therapy drugs approved for renal cell carcinoma include: Sorafenib (Nexavar®), and Sunitinib (Sutent®).

Immunotherapy is a new treatment method which uses natural substances to encourage the body's own immune system to fight off disease, or laboratory made immune system components to fight off unwanted disease. Immunotherapy agents are not called drugs or medication, but rather, Biological Immune Response Modulators (BIRMS). There are many types of BIRMS, including cancer vaccines which are just one form of immunotherapy. Targeted therapy and immunotherapy also have some drugs and BIRMs that overlap since these two fields are closely related. The two most commonly used BIRMs for the treatment of renal cell carcinom are Interferon, a natural protein produced by the immune system cells to fight against foreign agents including cancerous cells, and Interleukin, which is used in patients with advanced stages of renal cell carcinoma by boosting their immune system and slowing down the cancer growth.

Arterial Embolization is another unique treatment method for cancer. In this procedure, doctors aim to halt the blood flow to the tumor in order to halt it's growth and eventually shrink it so that it can be treated with other methods with less damage to healthy cells.

As stated above, surgery, as a treatment option, is approached carefully where tumor-only removal or partial removal is preferred over total removal of the kidneys. In advanced cases, a total nephrectomy (kidney removal) as well as radical nephrectomy (removal of the kidney along with the adrenal gland, lymph tissue).

Jason L Morrow is the founder and editor of OmniMedicalSearch.com where you can learn more about renal cell carcinoma.