KIDNEY CANCER
CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Diagnoses and Stages of Kidney
Cancer
Tests performed during the diagnosis
and staging of renal
cancer are also used to assist in determining
the most appropriate kidney
cancer treatment. Traditional open surgery
to remove the kidney tumor, along with minimally
invasive procedures like cryosurgery, are options
that will be considered.
60-70% of kidney tumors are discovered incidentally, meaning they are found during routine testing or while screening for other conditions. However, if a patient visits the physician with symptoms of kidney cancer (see Kidney Cancer Symptoms), the physician will first perform a general physical exam. There are several different tests and procedures that may be ordered to ascertain the diagnosis, and the physician may request some or all of them.
• During the physical exam, the physician may spend extra time feeling the patient’s abdomen, flanks and back to check for masses and pain.
• A urine specimen will be examined for blood and other substances indicating infection or kidney disease.
• Certain blood tests can determine if there has been a loss of kidney function, or if other problems, such as an infection, exist.
• An Intravenous Pyelogram (or IVP) is a series of x-rays that are taken after an injection of dye into the blood stream. This dye collects in the kidneys and makes them show up on x-ray. The x-rays track the dye as it works its way through the urinary tract. Tumors or other problems in the urinary tract can be seen on these x-rays.
• A CT Scan of the kidneys gives detailed views using a special x-ray machine that is attached to a computer. An injection of dye may or may not be used. Tumors and other abnormalities of the kidneys can be seen in detail.
• An ultrasound (or sonogram) of the kidneys is a simple procedure using a device that emits sound waves that humans cannot hear. These waves bounce off the kidneys and create echoes that a computer can translate into an image. Solid tumors and cysts show up very well on ultrasound.
• The physician may also wish to take a biopsy of the suspicious tissue. A biopsy is the removal of a small amount of the suspected cancerous tumor in order to examine it. The doctor inserts a thin needle through the skin into the kidney to retrieve the tissue sample, sometimes using ultrasound or x-rays to assist in guiding the needle to the correct spot. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope to identify any abnormal cells.
Kidney Cancer Stages
After a positive kidney
cancer diagnosis has been made, a treatment
plan must be devised. One of the first steps
in devising the plan is a process called “staging.”
The physician will review all of the diagnostic
studies, and may order some additional tests.
If surgery is planned, it is possible that final
staging will not take place until after the post-surgical
pathology results have been received. The
stage assigned describes the extent of the disease
in a way that is understood throughout the medical
community.
Renal cell carcinoma is described using the following stages:
Stage I
is the earliest stage of kidney
cancer. The tumor is less than 7cm (about
2-3/4 inches) in diameter and has not spread outside
the kidney.
Stage II is also a fairly early stage of the disease. The tumor is larger than 7cm, but the cancerous cells are still confined to the kidney.
Stage III is one of the following:
1. The tumor has not spread outside the kidney, but cancer cells have been found in one nearby lymph node; or,
2. The tumor has invaded the adrenal gland, the fat, and/or the fibrous tissue surrounding the kidney but has not spread beyond the fibrous tissue and cancer cells may be found in one nearby lymph node; or,
3. Cancer cells have spread from the kidney to a nearby large blood vessel and cancer cells may be found in one nearby lymph node.
Stage IV is one of the following:
1. The tumor extends beyond the fibrous tissue that surrounds the kidney; or,
2. Cancer cells are found in more than one nearby lymph node; or,
3. The cancer has spread to a remote area of the body, such as the lungs.
Recurrent cancer is cancer that
has come back after treatment. It may be
found in the kidney(s) or elsewhere in the body.
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