Interventional
Radiology Treatments for Kidney Cancer
Minimally
Invasive Option for Patients Who Are Not Good
Surgical Candidates
Procedures
performed by interventional radiologists are being
increasingly used in the care of patients with
cancer. These specially trained physicians use
X-rays, ultrasound or other imaging techniques
to guide small tubes called catheters and miniature
tools directly to the site of the disease. Interventional
radiology procedures for patients with cancer
include new approaches for treatment, relieving
pain and diagnosing cancer without surgical biopsy.
Kidney
Cancer
Kidney
cancer is the eighth most common cancer in men
and the tenth in women. The most common type of
kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma that forms
in the lining of the renal tubules in the kidney
that filter the blood and produce urine. Approximately
85 percent of kidney tumors are renal cell carcinomas.
When kidney cancer spreads outside the organ,
it can often be found in nearby lymph nodes, lungs,
bones or liver, as well as the other kidney.
Surgical
removal of tumors confined to the kidney offers
the best chance for a cure. Unfortunately, some
patients may not tolerate surgery due to underlying
medical conditions. In this group of patients,
minimally invasive image-guided therapies performed
by interventional radiologists offer a less invasive
option. These treatments also offer valuable benefits
to those patients with advanced or metastatic
renal cell carcinoma. Chemotherapy drugs and radiation
are generally ineffective at curing kidney cancer.
Prevalence
and Risk Factors
More
than 32,000 Americans each year are diagnosed
with kidney cancer-many of them don't have symptoms.
Typically, those with kidney cancer are past the
age of 40 and twice as often are men.Other risk
factors include:
* Smoking
* Obesity
* High blood pressure
* Long-term dialysis
* Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
Symptoms
The
incidence of kidney cancer is on the rise. Fortunately,
the availability of modern imaging technology
has led to more frequent detection of small, asymptomatic
tumors that otherwise would be undetected. Often,
small tumors do not cause symptoms and are discovered
on CTs, MRIs or ultrasounds that are performed
for some other reason, such as standard imaging
studies (CT or ultrasound) performed during many
emergency room visits. These small tumors are
often the best candidates for nonsurgical treatment
options. Common symptoms may include:
* Blood in the urine
* Side pain that does not go away
* A lump or mass in the side of the abdomen
* Weight loss
* Fever
* Feeling very tired
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