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Kidney cancer: Two symptoms located on the back warning of the common cancer

Julia Bradbury's sister gives an update on cancer diagnosis

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Renal cell cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in tubules of the kidney. Smoking and misuse of certain pain medicines can affect the risk of renal cell cancer. Experiencing any of these two warning symptoms on your back could indicate risk.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kind of kidney cancer found in adults.

The kidneys are organs in your body that help get rid of waste while also regulating fluid balance. There are tiny tubes in the kidneys called tubules.

These help to filter the blood, aid in excreting waste, and help make urine.

RCC occurs when cancer cells start growing uncontrollably in the lining of the tubules of the kidney.

RCC is a fast-growing cancer and often spreads to the lungs and surrounding organs.

Early on, renal cell carcinoma doesn’t usually cause any symptoms, according to WebMD.

The health site added: “The disease gets more serious; you might have warning signs like:

  • A lump on your side, belly, or lower back
  • Blood in your pee
  • Low back pain on one side
  • Losing weight for no clear reason
  • Not feeling hungry
  • Fever
  • Feeling tired
  • Not enough red blood cells.
  • Night sweats
  • High levels of calcium in your blood
  • High blood pressure.

Risk factors for renal cancer include:

  • Family history
  • Dialysis treatment
  • Hypertension
  • Obesity
  • Smoking cigarettes
  • Polycystic kidney disease
  • The genetic condition Von Hippel-Lindau disease
  • Chronic abuse of certain prescribed and over-the-counter medications.

Treatment

A targeted drug known as cabozantinib has shown promising activity against brain metastases resulting from kidney cancer, achieving a 50 percent response rate, and supporting further studies of the drug in this patient group whose poor prognosis has created a significant unmet need.

The drug is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor which attacks several targets in cancer cells.

It has been approved to treat advanced renal cell (kidney) cancer, but it has undergone very little testing in patients with brain metastases.

After renal cell cancer has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the kidney or to other parts of the body, said the National Cancer Institute.

The health site added: “The process used to find out if cancer has spread within the kidney or to other parts of the body is called staging.

“The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease.

“It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.”
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