Kidney cancer or renal cancer is the type of cancer that begins and originates in the kidney. An undifferentiated mass of mutated cells that grow abnormally on the kidney and the area surrounding it contributes to kidney cancer. Symptoms of kidney cancer usually included blood in the urine, fever, weight loss, and fatigue.

Kidney cancer is staged by the TNM system

• T – Tumor
• N – Node
• M – Metastasis

Tumor

• T followed by a number or letter is used to indicate the size and location of the tumor.
• TX is a tumor that cannot be evaluated
• T0 is when there is no evidence of a tumor in the kidney.
• T1 is a stage in which the tumor is found in the kidney and is very small (less than 7cm)
  • T1a: the size of the tumor is in between 1 cm to 4 cm
  • T2a: the size is in between 4 cm to 7 cm.
• T2 is a stage in which the tumor is above 7 cm in area.
• T3 is a stage in which the tumor has grown into the major veins within the kidney
• T4 is the stage in which the tumor has spread to areas beyond the kidney and reached the adrenal gland.

Node

• The N that stands for nodes indicates whether the tumor has spread to the regional lymph nodes.
• NX: It isn’t possible to evaluate the regional lymph nodes
• N0: The tumor has not spread to the lymph nodes
• N1: The tumor has spread to the regional lymph nodes.

Metastasis

• M indicates the spread of cancer throughout the body.
• M0: The tumor has not yet metastasized
• M1: The tumor has spread to areas beyond the kidney and the surrounding tissues.

Staging

The stage of kidney cancer is determined by combining these three variables

• STAGE 1: T1, N0, M0
• STAGE 2: T2, N0, M0
• STAGE 3: T1/T2, N1, M0 (or) T3, N, M0
• STAGE 4: T4, N, M0 (or) T, N, M1

Here are the methods to treat renal cancer:

Local treatment

• Local treatments help eradicate the tumor without causing damage or affecting other tissues and organs.
• These treatments are better and more likely to be used to treat early stages of kidney cancer
• This type of treatment involves one of the following procedures:
  • Surgery (removing the tumor entirely or partially using surgical methods)
  • Radio-frequency Ablation (heating the tumor through high energy radio waves consequently destroying it)
  • Cryotherapy (using cold to destroy the tumor through a needle)
  • Radiation therapy (high energy rays are concentrated on the tumor to kill it)

Systemic treatment

• Systemic treatment involves taking drugs orally or through the bloodstream via injections to dissolve the tumor.
• This approach can reach cancer cells throughout the body.
• Here are the types of procedures that are classified under the systemic approach:
  • Targeted therapy (targeted drugs which are a set of drugs that are different from chemotherapy drugs are injected into the bloodstream to destroy the tumor)
  • Immunotherapy (medicines to boost the immune system and fight against the tumor are injected)
  • Chemotherapy (inserting chemicals in the body that helps dissolve the tumor)