Kidney cancer, as the name implies, is cancer that occurs in the kidney, another common name for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which includes various subtypes of renal cell carcinoma that originate in different parts of the urinary tract, but excludes various tumors that originate in the interstitium as well as the epithelial system of the renal pelvis.
Nephron cancer accounts for the vast majority (80% to 90%) of malignancies of the kidney. In contrast, malignant tumors occurring in the renal mesenchyme are medically known as sarcomas, such as renal liposarcoma, renal fibrosarcoma, and renal smooth muscle sarcoma; malignant tumors occurring in the renal pelvis are medically known as pelvic carcinoma, and these malignant tumors occurring in the renal mesenchyme and pelvis have different characteristics from renal cancer and different principles of treatment.
Compared to other cancers such as lung, liver, and stomach cancers, the incidence of kidney cancer is not high, accounting for about 2% to 3% of adult malignancies. The cause of kidney cancer is currently unknown, and its development is associated with genetics, smoking, obesity, hypertension, and anti-hypertensive therapy.
The majority of kidney cancers occur in one kidney, often as a single tumor, and pathologic examination of resected tumor specimens reveals that 10% to 20% show unilateral fusion of multiple foci. The tumors are mostly located in the upper and lower poles of the kidney and vary greatly in size.
Hereditary renal cancer accounts for 2% to 4% of all kidney cancers and often presents as bilateral, multiple tumors.
The vast majority of kidney cancers are insensitive to radiation and chemotherapy, which is what makes it unique among cancers. To date, the main hope for patients with kidney cancer to cure the disease still lies in whether the cancer can be completely surgically removed, so it can be said that kidney cancer remains a surgical disease.
Happily, recent laboratory and clinical findings have further enriched the treatment strategy for kidney cancer, both for early-stage kidney cancer and for those patients with advanced disease that has progressed beyond surgical resection, with better treatment options.
- Newer targeted therapies can block the tumor’s vascular supply of oxygen and nutrients, starving the tumor and slowing its growth;
- And the latest immunomodulatory-targeted drugs hold the promise of long-term survival for some patients with advanced kidney cancer.
The advent of these treatments has given kidney cancer patients more effective treatments than ever before and has pushed the treatment of kidney cancer to the forefront of modern oncology.