There are several different types of cancer that can affect the kidney. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type, affecting approximately 40,000 persons every year in the United States. However, it is not a very common type of cancer overall.
RCC, also called renal adenocarcinoma or hypernephroma, is the development of cancerous changes in the cells of the renal tubules. These are the functional units of the kidneys where urine is formed and consist of structures called nephrons and collecting tubules.
As kidney cancer grows, it may invade organs near the kidney such as the liver, colon, or pancreas. Kidney cancer cells may also spread to areas away from the original site (metastasize) such as the lymph nodes, brain, lungs or bone.
Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for RCC, although usually a combination of treatment modalities is utilized. Outcome is greatly improved when the cancer is caught early, before metastases have occurred.
The Medifocus Guide on Renal Cell Carcinoma provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of renal cell carcinoma?
Are there any recognized risk factors for developing renal cell carcinoma?
What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma?
What is the current standard of care for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma?
What treatment options are available for the management of renal cell carcinoma?
Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?
Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in renal cell carcinoma?
Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for renal cell carcinoma?
What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about renal cell carcinoma?
What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Novel investigative approaches for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Seminars in Oncology. 2000
Renal cell carcinoma. Current Opinion in Oncology. 1999
Renal cell carcinoma: management of advanced disease. Journal of Urology. 1999
Genitourinary malignancies. Cancer Chemotherapy & Biological Response Modifiers. 1999
Renal-cell carcinoma in children: a different disorder from its adult counterpart?. Medical & Pediatric Oncology. 1998
Renal cell carcinoma. Current Opinion in Oncology. 1998
Clinical practice guidelines: renal cell carcinoma. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 1997
Report of 337 patients with renal cell carcinoma emphasizing 110 with stage IV disease and review of the literature. Journal of Surgical Oncology. 1997
Management of renal cell carcinoma. Oncology (Huntington). 2000
Prognostic factors in renal cell and bladder cancer. BJU International. 1999
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