Renal cancer originates in the kidney cells, which is why it’s also often referred to as kidney cancer. This type of cancer can affect both adults and children. Kidney or renal cancer is often detected at an early stage, thus making treatment much easier. Renal cancer occurs when mutations develop in the kidney cells. These mutations often multiply rapidly and interfere with the normal functioning of healthy cells. Let’s review some of the main risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options for renal cancer:

1. Causes of kidney cancer

Some of the main risk factors that can lead to renal cancer include:

• Family history of cancer
  Like with any other form of cancer, renal cancer tends to run in families. So, people who have a family history of kidney cancer and kidney diseases need to get frequent health check-ups done.
• Obesity
  Studies show that people with a high BMI (above 29) are at a higher risk of developing kidney cancer. With weight loss, the risk for developing this condition also drops significantly.
• Other health issues
  Patients who have suffered from kidney disease or failure and have had dialysis are at a higher risk of developing renal cancer. Also, people suffering from hypertension fall into a high-risk bracket for renal cancer.
• Age
  The risk of renal cancer increases with age.
• Certain syndromes
  Health conditions such as von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL), hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma, and tuberous sclerosis complex, make one more prone to the risks of developing renal cancer.
• Gender
  Men are more likely to develop renal cancer as compared to women.

2. Symptoms of renal cancer
Renal cancer rarely has any major symptoms in its early stages. The following symptoms may show up only once the cancer has advanced within the kidneys or metastasized to the nearby organs.

• Persistent pain in the lower back that does not seem to subside
• Blood in the urine, which may be pink, red, or darker brown in color
• Consistent episodes of fever
• Constant fatigue
• Inexplicable weight loss despite no changes in diet and exercise

Even though renal cancer does not show any signs in its early stages, it is often detected quite early on. This happens because most renal cancer cases are discovered by accident when a patient heads to the doctor to screen another illness. This helps one get early treatment of cancer and improves the chances of a quick and complete recovery.

3. Treatment options
Treatment options vary between patients depending on how advanced the cancer is. Surgical treatments include radical or partial nephrectomy, which can involve removing a part of the kidney or the whole kidney as well as the surrounding lymph nodes. Kidney cancer surgery is quite complicated. In some cases, the doctor may even need to remove or stop the vein that leads to the heart. To achieve this, the affected people are put on a heart-lung machine. Other accompanying treatment methods include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy.