Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancers account for approximately 3% of all adult cancer cases. They most often occur between the ages of 40 and 70 and are seen twice as often in men as in women. In our country, around 5,000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer every year. As around the world, the incidence of kidney cancer is rising in our country as well. Although the exact reason for this increase is not fully known, several risk factors associated with the development of kidney cancer have been identified. These include smoking, which doubles the risk of the disease, obesity, high blood pressure, exposure to toxic chemical agents and genetic factors.

Symptoms

The classic symptoms of kidney cancer are known as blood in the urine, flank pain and a palpable mass. However, these symptoms are seen in only a small portion of patients, 10-15%. The disease often progresses silently, without causing symptoms, and only when it reaches advanced stages and spreads to various organs does it cause complaints such as bone pain, cough, jaundice and weight loss. Most patients diagnosed at an early stage are detected incidentally during radiological imaging performed for another reason. Because early diagnosis provides a survival rate of over 85%, it is very important that people with a family history and those with risk factors do not neglect their routine urological check-ups.

Diagnostic Methods

The medical history and physical examination taken by the doctor regarding the patient's complaints and background are the first step toward diagnosis. During the examination, the flank areas of the abdomen where the kidneys are located are checked in particular for any firmness or palpable mass. The patient's complaints, history and the doctor's initial findings are very important in determining the investigations to be carried out afterward.

As laboratory tests, blood biochemistry and urinalysis are performed to determine whether there is bleeding in the urine and to obtain information about kidney function. Kidney cancer is usually diagnosed with imaging methods. For this purpose, ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), MRI and/or PET/CT tests are used.

Treatment

The main method in the treatment of kidney tumors is surgery. Depending on the size and location of the tumor, either complete removal of the affected kidney (radical nephrectomy) or removal of only the tumorous part (partial nephrectomy) is performed. Today, in suitable cases, these operations can also be performed with laparoscopic or robotic surgery.

For suitable patients with small tumors, procedures called ablative therapies (microwave thermal ablation, radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy) can be applied, in which the kidney is preserved and only the tumorous part is destroyed by heat or cold. In this way, the tumorous part can be eliminated without damaging the kidney.

If the disease has spread to other organs, in addition to surgery, the use of targeted therapies, which have come into use in recent years and yield quite good responses, and drugs that stimulate the immune system is recommended.

My advice to kidney cancer patients is to always remain optimistic, whatever the stage of their disease. This is because in early-stage masses confined to the kidney, surgical treatment already provides a cure in a large proportion of cases. In advanced disease, thanks to targeted therapies and immunotherapy applied in addition to surgery, important progress has been made in the treatment of this disease in recent years and effective responses have begun to be achieved.