| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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You have two kidneys. They are fist-sized organs on either side of your backbone above your waist. The tubes inside filter and clean your blood, taking out waste products and making urine. Kidney cancer forms in the lining of tiny tubes inside your kidneys.
Kidney cancer becomes more likely as you age. Risk factors include smoking, having certain genetic conditions, and misusing pain medicines for a long time.
You may have no symptoms at first. They may appear as the cancer grows. See your health care provider if you notice:
Tests to diagnose kidney cancer include blood, urine, and imaging tests. You may also have a biopsy.
Treatment depends on your age, your overall health and how advanced the cancer is. It might include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, biologic, or targeted therapies. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
You have two kidneys, each about the size of your fist. They are near the middle of your back, just below the rib cage. Inside each kidney there are about a million tiny structures called nephrons. They filter your blood. They remove wastes and extra water, which become urine. The urine flows through tubes called ureters. It goes to your bladder, which stores the urine until you go to the bathroom.
Most kidney diseases attack the nephrons. This damage may leave kidneys unable to remove wastes. Causes can include genetic problems, injuries, or medicines. You have a higher risk of kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a close family member with kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease damages the nephrons slowly over several years. Other kidney problems include:
Your doctor can do blood and urine tests to check if you have kidney disease. If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Wilms tumor is a rare type of kidney cancer. It causes a tumor on one or both kidneys. It usually affects children, but can happen in adults. Having certain genetic conditions or birth defects can increase the risk of getting it. Children that are at risk should be screened for Wilms tumor every three months until they turn eight.
Symptoms include a lump in the abdomen, blood in the urine, and a fever for no reason. Tests that examine the kidney and blood are used to find the tumor.
Doctors usually diagnose and remove the tumor in surgery. Other treatments include chemotherapy and radiation and biologic therapies. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer.
NIH: National Cancer Institute