Download Kidney Cancer Fact Sheet

Kidney Cancer
Fact Sheet
What is kidney cancer?
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Kidney cancer is formed from the nephrons – the tiny tubes of the kidney that filter
blood and produce urine.
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer in adults,
representing about 80 per cent of all kidney cancer.1
Kidney cancer is unlike many other types of cancer. There’s little you can do to
prevent it, there is no population-based screening for early detection and it can often
exist for many years without symptoms.
Physicians may use a combination of diagnostic tools and tests to determine the
presence of RCC, including a urinalysis and blood test, CT scan, MRI, bone scan,
ultrasound, X-ray, angiography and biopsy.1
In 2010, it was estimated that 4,800 people would be diagnosed with kidney cancer,
and 1,650 people would die from the disease.1
Early stage kidney cancer
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In early stage kidney cancer the tumour is limited to the kidney.2
Due to advances in imaging, approximately half of all tumours are now being caught
early, at less than 7 cm (stage I).3
If caught early (in stage I), the relative five-year survival rate for RCC patients is
approximately 67 per cent.1
Treating early stage kidney cancer
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Radical nephrectomies, a surgery that removes the entire kidney, are a standard
treatment for early stage kidney cancer. However, according to the current Canadian
Kidney Cancer Consensus Guidelines, many early stage tumours can be treated with
new and effective procedures:
 Partial nephrectomy: a surgical procedure that removes only the part of the
kidney containing the tumour.
 Tumour ablation techniques: a treatment to heating (radiofrequency ablation) or
freeze (cryotherapy) the tumour.
 Active surveillance: withholding treatment and close monitoring of the patient
until symptoms appear or change.4
When treating the cancer, research shows there is no significant benefit between a
radical or partial nephrectomy.5
 Yet these new organ-sparing techniques have not been widely adopted across
Canada.
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In general, living with one kidney does not create a medical problem; the remaining
kidney grows larger to compensate for the removed kidney.6 However, diminished
kidney function can be challenge for kidney cancer patients, particularly if the cancer
returns:
 Research shows in less than three years after surgery, one in 10 kidney cancer
patients develop kidney disease.7
 Should the cancer ever return, patients will need maximum kidney function to
tolerate cancer-fighting treatments.
 For early stage kidney cancer patients, a radical nephrectomy can severely
affect kidney function and create a higher risk of cardiac issues.8
Advanced stage kidney cancer
 RCC is considered advanced when the cancer has metastasized, or spread, beyond
the primary cancer site. Metastatic cancer is often found in nearby lymph nodes and
may spread to either kidneys or other organs and bones.9
 Unfortunately, because RCC is often asymptomatic, it can go undetected for years
and then diagnosed in an advanced stage, when the cancer has spread. Over a
quarter of cases are diagnosed at stage IV, which is fatal for the vast majority of
people.1
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Until the advent of targeted therapies, the five year survival rate for a patient diagnosed with
metastatic (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) RCC has traditionally been less
than 10 per cen.10
Treating advanced stage kidney cancer
 Advanced stage kidney cancer doesn’t usually respond to conventional therapies
such as radiation and chemotherapy, because of the location and basic filtering
function of the kidneys. This makes the need for alternative, effective treatments very
important for this disease.
 In the past five years Health Canada has approved five new targeted treatments for
kidney cancer, and patients are living longer than ever before.
 However, not all treatments are available to Canadians due to a lack of
provincial funding for these new drug therapies.
 For optimal survival, kidney cancer patients need better access and more flexibility in
treatment options so their physicians can tailor their treatment more effectively.
Visit www.kidneycancercanada.ca to find out more about kidney cancer and to see a list
of questions you can ask your physician about treatment options.
References:
1
Kidney Cancer Care. Diagnosis. Available at: http://www.kidneycancercare.ca/diagnosis.aspx (Accessed February 14,
2011)
2
BC Cancer Agency. Types of Cancer. Available at: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/TypesofCancer/Kidney/default.htm
(Accessed February 8 2011).
3
Chen DYT et al. Evaluation and Management of the Renal Mass. Med Clin N Am 95 (2011) 179-189
4
Kidney Cancer Canada. Glossary of Terms Relating to Kidney Cancer. Available at:
http://www.kidneycancercanada.org/dbfiles/190.pdf (Accessed February 14, 2011).
5
Van Poppel, H et al. A Prospective, Randomised EORTC Intergroup Phase 3 Study Comparing the Oncologic Outcome
of Elective Nephron-Sparing Surgery and Radical Nephrectomy for Low-Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma. European Urology
2010 (Dec 22).
6
BC Cancer Agency. Types of Cancer. Available at: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/TypesofCancer/Kidney/default.htm
(Accessed February 8 2011).
7
Klarenback, S et al. Adverse Renal Outcomes in subjects Undergoing Nephrectomy for Renal Tumors: A PopulationBased Analysis. European Urology 59 (2011) 33 – 339.
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9
Russo, Deleterious Renal Functional Outcomes After Radical Nephrectomy, EAJ, 59, 2011
Cohen HT, McGovern FJ. Renal-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:2477-2490.
10
Cancer Care Nova Scotia. Guidelines for the Role of Interferon-Alpha (IFN-a) In Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
(RCC). 2001 September. Available at: http://www.cancercare.ns.ca/documents/Interferon_Alpha_Renal_Cell_dg.pdf
(Accessed January 23, 2007).