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Our kidneys’ main job is to filter our blood. Sometimes we develop masses (growths or tumors) inside our kidneys. Some of these growths are cancerous but many are not. You must have your mass checked out to learn if it is cancerous or not.
There are many different options for treatment. Often there are even more choices if your cancer is found early. Your medical team is there to help you. They can help you learn more about the pros and cons of treatments. Here we share more about kidney cancer and the steps you can take if a mass forms in your body.
Most kidney growths (about 40%) are small, localized masses. Localized means that the tumor has not spread - from where it first started. The main classes of tumors are:
These are the most common malignant kidney tumors. They are found in main substance of the kidney, where the filtering occurs. RCC may form as a single tumor within a kidney or as two or more tumors in one kidney.
About 20% of tumors removed from kidneys are benign. There are about nine named tumors in this class. Some can grow quite large but they are almost always non-cancerous and do not spread to other organs.
Wilms tumors almost always occur in children and are rarely found in adults.
The main goals in treating kidney masses is to cure you of the cancer and to protect kidney function where possible. Protecting kidney function is especially important for patients with only one kidney or some other kidney disease.
For some patients, surgery will never be needed. For others, surgery may be the best choice. In some instances, you may be advised to have a biopsy of the tumor to learn more about its potential aggressiveness. Then your doctor may recommend one of four treatment choices. These are:
Active surveillance
Ablation
Partial nephrectomy
Radical nephrectomy
For active surveillance, your doctor will see you at intervals for tests and imaging (taking pictures of inside your body). Active surveillance is considered for small masses less than 3 cm (about 1 .2 inches) in size. The goal is to prevent progression and avoid potential risks and negative effects of other treatments. Your visits will be every three, six or twelvemonths as necessary. You may also have chest x-rays, as well as CT scans and ultrasounds. How often you see your doctor will depend on tumor size and stage and your age and general medical condition.
If your tumor is small (T1a, mass less than three cm in size), your surgeon may consider ablation. Ablation destroys the tumor with extreme heat or cold. Your doctor may do a biopsy before ablation so a pathologist can look closely at the tumor cells to see if there is cancer.
Cryoablation (cold ablation) is when very cold gases are passed through a probe to destroy the tumor cells.
Radiofrequency ablation (hot ablation) is when a thin, needle-like probe is placed through the skin to reach the tumor. An electric current is passed through the tip of the probe to heat the tumor and destroy the cells.
Nephrectomy means removal of the kidney. Partial nephrectomy means the doctor removes the tumor and the diseased part of the kidney but leaves the healthy part. If your tumor is at T1a stage (4cm or less), your doctor may suggest a partial nephrectomy. A partial nephrectomy can also be done for larger tumors if the tumor appears confined and amenable to this surgical approach.
During a radical nephrectomy, the whole kidney is removed. This is done if your kidney tumor shows signs of becoming cancerous or is very large or aggressive. Your body can function well with one good kidney if the other is removed.
Surgery for both types of nephrectomy can often be done via laparoscopic surgery but may need to be done by traditional open surgery depending on the size and characteristics of the tumor. During laparoscopy, your surgeon makes a very small hole in your abdomen and threads a thin, lighted tube to the site to look at the kidney
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