Renal cell carcinoma

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Kidney anatomy

Kidney tumor - CT scan

Kidney metastases, CT scan

Kidney - blood and urine flow

Renal cell carcinoma

Alternative Names:

Renal cancer; Kidney cancer; Hypernephroma; Adenocarcinoma of renal cells; Cancer - kidney
Symptoms:

Blood in the urine
Abnormal urine color (dark, rusty, or brown)
Flank pain
Back pain
Abdominal pain
Unintentional weight loss of more than 5% of body weight
Emaciated, thin, malnourished appearance
Enlargement of one testicle
Swelling or enlargement of the abdomen

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Signs and tests:

text continues below

Palpation of the abdomen may show a mass or organ enlargement, particularly of the kidney or liver. There may be a testicular varicocele in men.

Complete blood count (CBC)
Urine test may show red blood cells
Serum calcium levels maybe high
SGPT and alkaline phosphatase may be high
A urine cytology
Liver function tests
An ultrasound of the abdomen and kidney
Kidney x-ray
IVP
Renal arteriography

The following testsmay be performed to see if the cancer has spread:

An abdominal CT scanmay show a liver mass.
Abdominal MRI can determine if the cancer has spread toany surrounding blood vessels andwhether it can be surgically removed.
A chest x-ray may show mass in the chest.
A bone scan may show involvement of the bones.

References:

US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Approves New Treatment for Advanced Kidney Cancer. Rockville, MD: National Press Office; December 20, 2005. Press Release P05-107.