There is no single reason for the growth of kidney tumor, but numerous factors that contribute to its development have been detected, such as smoking, hypertension, obesity, exposure to some chemicals and the presence of kidney failure. A genetic predisposition of the patient causes some kidney tumors.
Types of tumors
The most frequent kidney tumor is clear cell carcinoma (80-90% of cases). There is also the papillary variant (10-15%) and the chromophobic variant (5%). The prognosis of the tumor depends on its dimensions (the bigger, the worse the forecast), the affectation of the neighboring structures, the degree of malignancy of the cells that compose it and the possible presence of metastasis. The degree of malignancy of the cells that make up the tumor is classified from 1 to 4 according to the Fuhrman / ISUP grading system, where 1 is the minimum degree of cellular atypia, and four is the maximum.
How is it diagnosed?
Most kidney tumors do not cause signs or discomfort: more than 50% of these tumors are diagnosed casually during tests performed for other reasons. The tumor causes trouble only when it alters the function of nearby organs (for example by compressing the Vena Cava causing edema in the legs) when it affects the urinary tract (causing hematuria, i.e., blood in the urine) or when metastases appear.
Renal ultrasound is the test that allows the diagnosis of most tumors and is performed by the kidney doctors in Delhi in the first instance when a kidney tumor is suspected.
The best test to detect a renal tumor, to assess its characteristics and the presence of metastases is the thoracoabdominal CT performed with intravenous contrast.
There are no programs to prevent kidney tumor.
How is it treated?
Surgery represents the treatment of choice for kidney tumors. In most patients, you can perform partial kidney surgery (where only the tumor is removed, and the rest of the healthy kidney is preserved) or radical surgery (where the entire kidney is removed). Even in patients with metastases, the removal of the kidney associated with the start of drugs such as monoclonal antibodies is the treatment of choice.
The majority of these interventions can be performed with minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic or robotic surgery). The robotic technique allows an excellent precision in the realization of stitches of the kidney tissue, which is a fundamental part in performing these surgeries. In patients with a history of abdominal surgery, obese or in tumors located in the posterior part of the kidney.
What should be the follow-up?
The follow-up of the operated patients is done with abdominal ultrasound or CT of the thorax and abdomen with a frequency that depends on the degree of malignancy and the characteristics of the renal tumor that was operated on.
Therefore, kidney cancer is frequent, usually does not cause symptoms, and is generally diagnosed when performing ultrasounds. The treatment of choice is surgery, and the minimally invasive accesses (robot or laparoscopy) are recommended by the best kidney doctors in India, to make better the quality of life of our patients.
Doctors Beyond Borders | Reviews of Hospitals and Doctors 