Kidney Cancer Treatment – Introduction

As we proceed to discuss the best kidney cancer treatment options in India, let us learn a little about your kidneys. These are 2 small bean-shaped organs, each of which is about the size of your fist. They are positioned behind your abdominal organs, with one kidney located on each side of your spine.

Kidney cancer begins when cells in your kidneys change abnormally and start to divide out of control. Over a period of time, these cells form a visible mass called a tumor. A cancerous or malignant tumor is the one that spreads to other tissues as well as vital organs. This phenomenon is known as metastasis.

Kidney cancer is more common in adults than in children. The risk of kidney cancer increases as we age.

Sign & Symptoms of Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer may or may not show any significant symptoms in the early stages. But as the tumor progresses, the symptoms start appearing. That is why, it usually doesn’t get diagnosed till it has started to spread.

Most common symptoms of kidney cancer include –

• Appearance of a lump or mass in the kidney area
• Hematuria (blood in urine)
• Pain in the flanks
• Appetite loss and feeling of tiredness
• Excessive weight loss
• Increased blood pressure
• Feeling weak and lethargic
• Pain in the bones
• Feeling feverish all the time

According to one of the best kidney cancer specialists in India, Dr. Anant Kumar, the exact cause of kidney cancer has not yet been found. However, below risk factors can increase the chances of having kidney cancer –

• Smoking
• High Blood Pressure
• Overweight
• Family History
• Gene Mutations/Genetic Disorder
• Prolonged Dialysis treatment
• Tuberous sclerosis complex disease

How does Kidney Cancer get diagnosed?

If you have any of the above-mentioned symptoms, your doctor will ask for complete medical history and also suggest some tests that will help in diagnosing and evaluating if you have kidney cancer. These tests commonly include:

• Blood Tests : To find out if there are too few red blood cells, or if there is any impairment in your kidney function.This is done by looking at creatinine levels.
• Urine Analysis : Sample of your urine will be tested to check the presence of blood in it.
• Ultrasound : It helps in detecting the presence of any tumor.
• CT Scan/MRI : Imaging tests help in getting an inside view of the affected area.
• Renal Biopsy : A tissue sample is studied under a microscope to rule out the presence of cancerous cells in the kidney.

Kidney Cancer Treatment in India

Your Kidney cancer treatment in India will be decided by your treating doctor dependingupon the stage and grade of your kidney tumor.It will also depend on your age and general overall health condition. It can be a single treatment line of a combination of these options – surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy, and sometimes ablation as well.

Now let us learn about each of these in brief –

• Kidney Cancer Surgery
  Most stages of kidney cancer are treated through surgery. During surgical intervention, your doctor will remove the completetumor in the safest way.The surgery can be performed through various approaches like- traditional open incision, laparoscopically or through robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Doctors from the best kidney cancer hospitals in India assist each patient in deciding on the right surgery and approach for treatment of kidney tumor.

  The two main types of kidney cancer surgery are –

  i) Partial nephrectomy: Your treating doctor will remove only that part of your kidney that has the tumor;
  ii) Radical nephrectomy: In this, your treating doctor will remove your complete kidney and also some of the tissues in nearby area. He might also remove some lymph nodes of the surrounding area.

• Chemotherapy
  Though chemotherapy is notthe standard treatment commonly recommended for kidney cancer, but it can be useful in some cases, typically only after having triedother options. Chemotherapy medications are taken either orally or your doctor will administer it through a intravenously.It ismostly well tolerated.

• Radiation Therapy
  Your oncologist may recommend radiation therapy if you are left with only one kidney or if he finds you ineligible for surgical intervention. Radiation therapy is known to ease kidney cancer symptoms like pain.This kind of cancer treatment makes use of highdose X-raysfor killing cancer cells.

  Proton Therapy for kidney cancer treatment is also being used successfully these days. High-dose proton beam therapyhelps in controlling kidney cancer while sustaining the renal function with high probability.It canalso be used as an alternative curative therapy particularly for inoperable patients.

• Immunotherapy
  Immunotherapy for kidney cancer treatmentuses specific medications for boosting your own immune system. This in turn helps your body in recognizing and destroying cancer cells in a more effective way. Immunotherapy can either beused as standalone treatment module or alongwith surgery as well.

• Targeted Therapy
  Targeted drug therapy works by blocking certain traits that help cancer cells flourish. For instance, these drugs can halt the growth of new blood vessels or proteins that are feeding cancer cells.

  Targeted drug therapy is often suggested when surgical intervention isnot possible. There might be cases wherein these medications may be given by oncologist after surgery for reducing the risk of cancer recurrence.

• Ablation
  Ablation treatment works on fundamental that heat and cold can also kill cancer cells. Patients who are not eligible for surgery can be advised to undergo radio-frequency ablation or cryoablation.

  During radiofrequency ablation, electrical current is passed through a needle inserted through your skin into the kidney tumor site. This current kills the cells and destroys them. Whereas, in cryoablation, cancer cells are frozen with cold gas in the same way.

Conclusion

Getting diagnosed with kidney cancer can be a scary and frustrating experience. Just like other cancers, kidney cancer treatment is also more beneficial when it gets diagnosed in early stage.

The best kidney cancer doctor in India will talk to you about your line of treatment after you have arrived at hospital and see him or her. You will then be given additional full support to help you understand all your options and decide accordingly. Your case manager will be there to guide and counsel you throughout your kidney cancer treatment in India. These things will you maintain a strong and healthy emotional outlook during your entire treatment journey.