course heo what is the etiology of renal cell carcinoma?

by Johnpaul Torp 9 min read

Scientists aren’t sure exactly what causes renal cell carcinoma. They know that most kidney cancers start when something goes wrong in the genes in the kidney. No one can say for certain why that happens.

Full Answer

What causes renal cell carcinoma?

The question of screening and preventive measures greatly depends on the cause of the tumor development. For the latter reason, this review focuses on etiology, pathophysiology and risk factors for renal neoplasm. Methods: A literature search using the databases Medscape, Pubmed, UpToDate and EBSCO from 1945 to 2015.

What are the stages of renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) denotes cancer originated from the renal epithelium and accounts for >90% of cancers in the kidney. The disease encompasses >10 histological and molecular subtypes, of which clear cell RCC (ccRCC) is most common and accounts for most cancer-related deaths. Although somatic VHL mutations have been described for some time, more-recent …

What is renal cell carcinoma and how is it treated?

Oct 09, 2019 · Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer. This type of cancer can produce a variety of symptoms, including pain, fatigue, and blood in the urine. Risk factors include smoking, toxin exposure, and a family history of renal cell cancer. he noticeable effects of renal cell carcinoma typically begin as the cancer reaches an advanced stage.

What is renal cell carcinoma (RCC)?

Papillary renal cell carcinoma This type of kidney tumor comprises approximately 10% of all RCCs (ref.24,25). Two familial syndromes are associated with increased risk of papillary-type RCC: hereditary papillary RCC is an autosomal dominant syn-drome characterized by multifocal, bilateral, type 1 - RCC caused by mutation of the MET gene on 7q31.

What is renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) denotes cancer originated from the renal epithelium and accounts for >90% of cancers in the kidney. The disease encompasses >10 histological and molecular subtypes, of which clear cell RCC (ccRCC) is most common and accounts for most cancer-related deaths.

What are the other drugs that are approved for metastatic RCC?

Since 2015, agents with additional targets aside from VEGFR have been approved, such as cabozantinib and lenvatinib; immunotherapies, such as nivolumab, have also been added to the armamentarium for metastatic RCC.

Where does renal cell carcinoma start?

There are many different effects that can occur as the result of renal cell carcinoma. This cancer starts in the kidney, and it can also metastasize (spread) to other areas in the body.

Can renal cell carcinoma affect both kidneys?

Causes. Renal cells are a type of cell in the kidneys. Renal cell carcinoma usually involves only one kidney, but it can affect both kidneys. The kidneys are organs that balance fluids and chemicals in the body.

Can renal cell carcinoma spread to other areas?

There are many different effects that can occur as the result of renal cell carcinoma. This cancer starts in the kidney, and it can also metastasize (spread) to other areas in the body. The first symptoms of renal cell carcinoma can vary. You may experience some of the effects, but you are unlikely to experience all of them.

Can renal cell carcinoma cause back pain?

Your renal cell cancer might not produce symptoms until it spreads outside your kidney. Your first symptoms may be caused by the effects of metastatic cancer in a different part of your body besides your kidney: Back pain can occur due to renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the spine.

What tests are needed for renal cell carcinoma?

Additional testing, such as blood tests, a biopsy, or a search for metastatic lesions is usually needed. If you have any of the symptoms of renal cell carcinoma, your medical team will evaluate them with a medical history, physical examination, and diagnostic tests. Your medical history will include questions about your symptoms, ...

How big is a renal cell carcinoma tumor?

Renal Cell Carcinoma Tumor Stages. Stage 1: The tumor is only in the kidney and it is smaller than 7 centimeters (cm) in size. Stage 2: The tumor is only in the kidney and it is larger than 7 cm in size. Stage 3: The tumor has spread beyond the kidney to adjacent areas, such as the adrenal gland.

Can renal cell carcinoma be detected at an early stage?

If you are diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma at an early stage, you may require long term monitoring after your cancer treatment to identify any tumor recurrence. Because there are several known risk factors of renal cell carcinoma that are related to lifestyle habits—such as smoking, obesity, and toxin exposure—it is especially important ...

Is renal cancer hereditary?

An hereditary predisposition to renal cancer is likely whenever an individual who is diagnosed with renal can-cer has a close relative also diagnosed with the disease, and/or when an individual presents with multifocal renal tumors or a history of previous renal tumors. A family history should be obtained and a pedigree created, paying specific attention to relatives with a known history of can-cer. Multifocal and bilateral renal tumors are commonly found in RCC associated with hereditary syndromes (with the exception of HLRCC), and extra-renal manifestations of disease, such as uterine tumors in HLRCC, pancre-atic cysts, tumors and adrenal pheochromocytomas in VHL, should also be noted67. A summary of hereditary syndromes associated with renal neoplasia is shown in Table 1.

What imaging is used for RCC?

Radiological investigations of RCC should include CT imaging, before and after intravenous contrast to confirm the diagnosis. These will provide information on the function and morphology of the contralateral kidney and assess tumor extension, including extrarenal spread and venous involvement. Abdominal ultrasound and mag-netic resonance imaging are alternatives to CT. Chest CT is the most accurate for tumor staging; a routine chest X-ray should be done as a minimum108. Case dependant is evaluation of bone and brain metastases with diagnos-tic performance of bone scintigraphy and brain CT. Our clinical approach greatly depends on a patient’s clinical status and tumor staging. Renal masses may be classified as solid or cystic by imaging criteria. For evaluating solid renal masses, the presence of enhancement is the most important criteria for differentiating malignant from be-nign lesions.

What is a chromophobe RCC?

This subtype is further subdivided into two variants, classic and eosinophilic (oncocytic).The hereditary disease associated with chromophobe RCC (chRCC) is an autosomal dominant Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome which is caused by germline mutations in the folliculin gene – FLCN maps to chromosome 17 and was subsequently identified at 17p11.2 (ref.29).This gene acts as a tumor suppressor and interacts with mTOR and AMP activated protein-kinase signalling pathways30. Patients with the BHD syndrome tend to develop fibrofol-liculomas, lung cysts, spontaneous pneumothorax, renal cysts, cancers and skin manifestations as multiple fibrofol-liculomas, trichodiscomas and acrochordons31. Few other mutations in tumor suppressor genes have been identi-fied in chromophobe RCC. One example is dismutations in PTEN located in 10q23 and TP53 located at 17p13 (ref.13).

What is the incidence of oncocytoma?

The incidence of oncocytomas ranges from 3% to 7% of all primary renal neoplasms. Oncocytoma has a wide age distribution, with a peak incidence in the seventh de-cade of life. Men are affected twice as commonly as fe-males35. Renal oncocytoma is rare. Benign renal epithelial tumors are composed of large cells with mitochondria-rich cytoplasm thought to arise from intercalated cells of the collecting duct. The cytological features of renal oncocyto-ma show overlap with other renal entities36. Pathologically, classic renal oncocytomas have been described as cir-cumscribed solid tumors with a central stellate scar, with focal cystification reported in 20% to 37% of cases37,38. Pathological differentiation between an oncocytoma and an RCC with oncocytic features is difficult. The most re-cently published study described the usefulness of immu-nohistochemical markers: DOG1 (discovered on GIST 1), cyclin D1, CK7, CD117 and vimentin in the differential diagnosis of renal epithelial tumors. The results showed that of these markers, DOG1 is a very sensitive and very specific marker for distinguishing chRCC from ccRCC; Cyclin D1 is useful in discriminating between chRCC and renal oncocytoma; CK7 and CD117 are useful markers for distinguishing chRCC from renal oncocytoma and ccRCC; and vimentin is helpful for distinguishing clear cell RCC from chromophobe RCC and oncocytoma39.

Can renal cell carcinoma be found in both kidneys?

It often starts as just one tumor in a kidney, but sometimes it begin s as several tumors, or it’s found in both kidneys at once. You might also hear it called renal cell cancer. Doctors have different ways to treat renal cell carcinoma, and scientists are testing new ones, too.

Is renal cell carcinoma a serious disease?

What Is Renal Cell Carcinoma? It's the most common type of kidney cancer. Although it’s a serious disease, finding and treating it early makes it more likely that you’ll be cured. No matter when you’re diagnosed, you can do certain things to ease your symptoms and feel better during your treatment.

How old do you have to be to get renal cell carcinoma?

Most people who have renal cell carcinoma are older, usually between ages 50 and 70. It often starts as just one tumor in a kidney, but sometimes it begins as several tumors, or it’s found in both kidneys at once. You might also hear it called renal cell cancer.

Does radiation kill renal cell carcinoma?

Many kinds of cancer are treated with radiation or chemotherapy, or sometimes both. These treatments usually don’t work well for renal cell carcinoma. In some cases, your doctor may still prescribe them to ease your symptoms or if other treatments haven’t worked.

What is the test to see if you have cancer?

CT scan, a test that uses a powerful X-ray to make detailed pictures inside your body. Nephrectomy, when doctors remove part of one of your kidneys, or sometimes the whole kidney, to check it for renal cell carcinoma. You’ll have this test if your doctor has already spotted a tumor, but doesn’t know if it’s cancer.

What is the purpose of a nephrectomy?

Nephrectomy, when doctors remove part of one of your kidneys, or sometimes the whole kidney, to check it for renal cell carcinoma. You’ll have this test if your doctor has already spotted a tumor, but doesn’t know if it’s cancer.

What is the best treatment for kidney cancer?

The best plan for you depends on the stage of your cancer, how healthy you are overall, and any side effects you might have. Your options may include: Surgery to remove part or all of the kidney. Biologic drugs, which boost your body’s own defenses to fight cancer cells. Drugs such as interferon -alfa or interleukin-2.

Is renal cell carcinoma primary or secondary?

Most often any kidney lesions are primary renal, but sometimes they can be secondary (metastases, lymphoma). Every year renal cell carcinoma tends to a significant increase in the incidence. Today there are many available methods of examination, however difficulties often remain in the differential diagnosis of kidney lesions. The article discusses about the modern possibilities of methods in the identification and assessment of kidney lesions, their role in determining the tactics of patient management and key approaches in imaging characterization of these masses using CT and PET, MRI and CEUS. The analysis of the modern literature has shown that the currently existing radiation diagnostic methods do not provide an absolute opportunity for differential diagnosis of rare kidney tumors. CEUS, according to various authors, demonstrates high efficiency indicators, but does not exceed these indicators in comparison with CT and MRI. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is a potentially safe method and can be used as a method for additional examination to characterize indeterminate renal lesions.

What percentage of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma?

The renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents 80-85% of all kidney cancers, and it is the most common and the third most diagnosed urogenital malignancy (2). ... ... Kidney cancers are ranked 14th in the World among the ones with the highest incidence (1) (2) (3). The renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents 80-85% of all kidney cancers, ...

What is the treatment for renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the kidney cancer with the highest incidence and its treatment follows two paths: nephrectomy and/or systemic therapy , which was only chemotherapy-based and has evolved with the introduction of target drugs to the immune system.

Is renal cancer malignant or benign?

As a kind of urinary system tumor, kidney tumor usually can be divided into benign and malignant tumor [1]. Of which, malignant tumor accounts for a relatively large proportion and can usually be divided into many types such as RCC, renal cell tumor, and renal metastasis [2].

Is kidney cancer recurrence?

About a third of patients with kidney cancer experience recurrence or cancer-related progression. Clinically, kidney cancer prognoses may be quite different, even in patients with kidney cancer at the same clinical stage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to screen for kidney cancer prognosis biomarkers.

What are the factors that contribute to the incidence of RCC?

Age (over 85 years), gender (male), smoking habit, analgesics use, obesity, lack of physical activity, exposure to industrial or environmental agents and comorbidities such as hypertension, urinary stones, diabetes, liver and chronic kidney diseases, are known factors related to the incidence of RCC (5).

What is renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is also called hypernephroma, renal adenocarcinoma, or renal or kidney cancer. It’s the most common kind of kidne y cancer found in adults. The kidneys are organs in your body that help get rid of waste while also regulating fluid balance. There are tiny tubes in the kidneys called tubules.

What is the cause of RCC?

RCC occurs when cancer cells start growing uncontrollably in the lining of the tubules of the kidney. RCC is a fast-growing cancer and often spreads to the lungs and surrounding organs.

How to tell if you have RCC?

When RCC is in its early stages, patients may be symptom-free. As the disease progresses, symptoms may include: 1 a lump in the abdomen 2 blood in the urine 3 unexplained weight loss 4 loss of appetite 5 fatigue 6 vision problems 7 persistent pain in the side 8 excessive hair growth (in women)

What causes cysts in kidneys?

There are some risk factors for the disease, including: 1 family history of RCC 2 dialysis treatment 3 hypertension 4 obesity 5 smoking cigarettes 6 polycystic kidney disease (an inherited disorder that causes cysts to form in the kidneys) 7 the genetic condition Von Hippel-Lindau disease (characterized by cysts and tumors in various organs) 8 chronic abuse of certain prescribed and over-the-counter medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis, and medications for fever and pain relief such as acetaminophen

What is the name of the tiny tube in the kidney?

There are tiny tubes in the kidneys called tubules. These help filter the blood, aid in excreting waste, and help make urine. RCC occurs when cancer cells start growing uncontrollably in the lining of the tubules of the kidney. RCC is a fast-growing cancer and often spreads to the lungs and surrounding organs.

Where does RCC occur?

RCC occurs when cancer cells start growing uncontrollably in the lining of the tubules of the kidney. RCC is a fast-growing cancer and often spreads to the lungs and surrounding organs.

What is the name of the disease that causes cysts and tumors in various organs?

the genetic condition Von Hippel-Lindau disease (characterized by cysts and tumors in various organs) chronic abuse of certain prescribed and over-the-counter medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis, and medications for fever and pain relief such as acetaminophen.

Can genetics cause RCC?

Genetics can play a role in developing RCC. A few rare inherited conditions, such as Von Hippel-Lindau disease and hereditary (or familial) papillary RCC, put you at higher risk for developing RCC.

Can you get kidney cancer if you don't smoke?

According to the Mayo Clinic, smokers have a greater chance of having kidney cancer than those who don’t smoke. If you quit smoking, your risk of developing the condition can be greatly reduced.

What are the risk factors for renal cell carcinoma?

Risk factors for renal cell carcinoma include hypertension, tobacco use, obesity, and acquired cystic kidney disease in the setting of end-stage renal disease. 1, 3, 6 Occupational exposure to trichloroethylene can lead to the development of renal cell carcinoma and increased mortality from renal cell carcinoma. 5, 7 – 9 The International Agency for Research on Cancer labels trichloroethylene as carcinogenic to humans and specifically associates it with renal cancer. 10 Occupational exposure to trichloroethylene is most commonly encountered by mechanics, dry cleaners, oil processors, polyvinyl chloride manufacturers, and low-nicotine tobacco producers. 8

Is renal cell carcinoma a heritable disease?

References. Screening for renal cell carcinoma is not recommended, except in the setting of a known heritable syndrome associated with the development of renal cell carcinoma. 1 The management of hypertension and obesity, and the avoidance of tobacco use are the only established methods of primary prevention.

What is the best treatment for a nonmetastatic kidney mass?

The preferred treatment for any nonmetastatic, solid, or Bosniak III or IV complex cystic kidney mass is surgical excision , preferably using a minimally invasive approach. 23 In select patients, nephron-sparing partial nephrectomy is recommended with a priority of achieving negative surgical margins while preserving nephron mass. Radical nephrectomy is indicated in patients with an increased oncologic risk based on clinical indicators (solid masses greater than 3 cm, complex cystic masses, no preexisting chronic kidney disease, normal contralateral kidney and if partial nephrectomy would be challenging) and in patients who plan to undergo targeted pharmaceutical treatment. 12, 23 Lymph node dissection should be performed for staging purposes in patients with clinically concerning regional lymphadenopathy. Adrenalectomy should be performed in patients where imaging and/or intraoperative indications of adrenal invasion are evident. 23