Renal Cell Carcinoma

According to the latest Global Cancer Statistics 2022, kidney cancer ranked 14th globally, with approximately 434,419 incident cases and 155,702 deaths.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer. RCC forms in tiny tubes inside your kidneys called tubules. Tubules direct substances your body needs, like water and nutrients, to your bloodstream, while filtering waste through your urine (pee). Up to 85% of kidney cancers are RCC.

Types of renal cell carcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC): The most common type of RCC.
Papillary renal cell carcinoma: 10% to 15% of RCCs are papillary renal cell carcinoma.
Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: 5% to 10% of RCCs are chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.
Unclassified RCC: Up to 6% of RCCs don’t fit into any category.

Most people don’t notice symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms appear, they usually relate to how tumor growth impacts nearby tissue or organs: Blood in your urine (hematuria), pain in your flank (the sides of your body between your hips and ribs), a firm lump in your abdomen, low back, or flank, fever, night sweats, unexplained weight loss

Risk Factors
Kidney cancer is strongly associated with certain risk factors, specifically: smoking, obesity, hypertension, heredity (first-degree relatives).
Most of the time, kidney cancer is detected incidentally during imaging examinations.

The most common tests include:

• Ultrasound
• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Treatment
Treatment decisions are made by specialized physicians and depend on the tumor’s type, size, stage, and patient health.