Are you having a sharp pain right under your ribs? Or noticing some blood in your urine and feeling exhausted?

These signs could be possible indicators of kidney cancer.

Kidney cancer, as you may know, is the type of cancer that develops in the kidneys. Cancer in kidneys occur when there is a growth of abnormal cells, which forms into a tumour.

It is essential for you to understand the prognosis of kidney cancer to take prompt action to tackle it, right from the beginning.

Wondering why prognosis is important? Well, you can learn more about what to expect during your treatment. You can emotionally prepare for it as well.

Prognosis of an individual refers to the possible course and results of the disease.

Mykare Health is here to provide you an insight into the importance of understanding kidney cancer prognosis.

We will be focusing on the change of prognosis for different stages of kidney cancer.

Kidney Cancer: Basics

Here’s what you need to know about kidney cancer in the first place.

Types Of Kidney Cancer

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC): RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer. It develops in the kidney within the lining of its small tubes. It can grow in one of the kidneys as a tumour but can also affect both the kidneys.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC): This type of cancer is less common than RCC. It develops in the renal pelvis. It is the area where urine gets collected.

Renal Sarcoma: This type of kidney cancer is rare. It develops in the blood vessels of the kidney or in connective tissues.

Wilms tumour: This type of cancer is found in children. It affects kids who are under the age of 5. It is rare in adults.

What Are The Causes?

Common causes of kidney cancer include:

• Age
• High blood pressure
• Genetic conditions
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Family history
• Exposure to chemicals in workplace

What Are The Symptoms?

To be able to detect it early, you must be aware of the common signs of kidney cancer.

Some of the symptoms of kidney cancer are:

• Lower back pain
• Blood in urine
• Sudden weight loss
• Fatigue
• Swelling on legs or ankles
• Anaemia
• Loss of appetite

Staging Process Of Kidney Cancer

Staging of cancer is the process that decides the spread of cancer.

Why is it important? Because it determines the treatment planning, prognosis, and communication between patients and healthcare professionals.

Staging of kidney cancer helps doctors in deciding which treatment option is best for you. The treatment options for kidney cancer can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.

The treatment choice will be based on your condition. Doctors use the TNM (Tumour, Node, Metastasis) system to describe staging. Those are the main prognostic factors.

Prognostic Factors

Let’s now dive deep into the prognostic factors. Prognostic factors help in determining the progress and results of the disease. In kidney cancer, prognostic factors play an important role. They are:

• Tumour size and location: The prognosis may depend on the tumour size. Smaller tumours can be treated easily. Large tumours are likely to spread to other organs. Then it will be difficult to treat.

Prognosis is also based on the location of cancer in the kidneys. If the tumour is around the centre of the kidney, the treatment might be challenging.

• Metastasis: It is the spreading of cancer to other organs. It is a significant factor in determining the prognosis. Metastasis makes it difficult to treat the cancer. In this case, prognosis may not be efficient.

• Lymph node involvement: The presence of cancer in lymph nodes indicates a higher chance of cancer spread. The prognosis will be difficult in this case as well.

Understanding The Stages And Outcomes

Now, let’s take a look at how prognosis varies according to different stages of the disease.

• Stage 1

Stage one is an early stage diagnosis. In stage one, the tumour is small. It will not spread to other organs other than the kidneys. Surgical removal of the tumour is the best option in stage one.

The success rate of the procedure is high. Most of the people with stage one kidney cancer who have undergone surgery had a long term survival. The treatment is often successful.

Early detection is important to identify the tumour at an early stage and remove them successfully.

• Stage 2

In this stage, the tumour will be larger than stage one tumours. But it will be within the kidney itself and may not affect the nearby organs.

Surgical and non-surgical approaches are available for the treatment of stage two kidney cancer. Decision to perform surgery will be based on the location and size of the tumour. Non-surgical methods involve ablative and adjuvant therapy.

Proper care after the treatment for stage two kidney cancer is important as they may recur.

• Stage 3

In stage three, the cancer can be any size. It can also spread to nearby locations of the kidneys.

Surgery or lymph node dissection are the main treatments for stage three kidney cancer. The affected lymph nodes will be removed in the process. However, the risks are high in this stage.

Since there is a high chance of recurrence and spread to other organs, the treatment should be more rigorous. Proper care is equally important to increase the chance of survival in stage three.

• Stage 4

It is a more advanced stage of kidney cancer. In this stage, the cancer may have already spread to other nearby organs, affecting them as well.

In this case, targeted therapies and chemotherapy can be used for treatment. Immunotherapy is also an option since it helps to improve the body’s immune system.

Stage four is usually not curable. But there are chances of prolonged survival with proper and advanced treatments.

Now you know prognosis is important as it will help you gain awareness about the possible paths and outcomes. Open communication with your healthcare professional will also be easier and effective.