Kidney cancer, also known as Renal Cancer, is a disease that affects the kidneys. Even as kidney cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies affecting mankind at a productive age group, awareness about the disease continues to be considerably low. If not diagnosed early, renal cancer can cause widespread metastasis (when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body), thereby becoming incurable and fatal for the patient.

To sensitise the masses on early detection, World Kidney Cancer Day is observed on 17^th June every year. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Let’s talk about treatment options’.

Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan, Director, Urology, Robotics and Kidney Transplant Surgery, Fortis Mohali, in an advisory explains the causes and ways to detect renal cancer.

“Renal cancer is one of the most common cancers prevalent in the country. Nearly 75 cases of renal cancer were received at Fortis Mohali last year. As a majority of cases remain undetected, it is important to get oneself screened after 40 at least once a year. This cancer can only be detected through screening and ultrasound,” said Dr Ranjan.

Dr Ranjan said treatment depends on the stage of the tumour and surgery is the only viable option to treat kidney cancer. “This is because the tumour is unresponsive to chemotherapy and radiation. Ultrasound is less expensive and the commonest way to detect early kidney cancer. Robotic Surgery has further revolutionized treatment of cancer as patients have minimal blood loss, less scarring and the recovery process is faster,” he added.

What is kidney cancer?

Kidneys helps flush out waste from the body. Kidney cancer develops when cells in the kidney become malignant and multiply out of control, forming a lump called tumour.

Causes

Even as the causes of kidney cancer are not known, a few factors increase the risk of developing the disease. These include exposure to smoking, obesity, inhaling harmful fumes (paint and dye industry). Dr Ranjan, however, said kidney stones very rarely cause kidney cancer disease.

Treatment options

Dr Ranjan said treatment depends on the stage of the tumour and surgery is the only viable option to treat kidney cancer. “This is because the tumour is unresponsive to chemotherapy and radiation. Ultrasound is less expensive and the commonest way to detect early kidney cancer. Robotic Surgery has further revolutionized treatment of cancer as patients have minimal blood loss, less scarring and the recovery process is faster,” he added.

Discussing the benefits of Robotic Surgery, Dr Ranjan, said, “Robotic surgery is the latest form of minimal invasive surgery and provides a 3D view of the operative field via a special camera inserted into the body of the patient. Parts of the body which are difficult to reach with the human hand can be accessed by robot-assisted arms that can rotate 360 degrees. Unlike traditional surgery, Robotic Surgery enables urologists to preserve the kidney function and remove only the cancerous part of the organ. The recovery process is swift and the patient is usually discharged in a couple of days.”