Kidney cancer
Kidney cancer is any cancer that starts in the kidney tissue The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs about the size of a human fist The kidneys are located behind the abdominal organs, one on each side of the spine
In adults, the most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma Other rarer types of cancer can also be found in the kidney Children mostly develop Wilms tumor - one of the types of kidney cancer
The number of kidney cancer cases is increasing One of the reasons is improved research methods, such as computed tomography These methods often allow the incidental detection of cancer
It is not known what causes kidney cancer
Doctors know that cancer occurs when certain kidney cells undergo DNA mutations The mutation allows cells to grow and divide uncontrollably A cluster of abnormal cells forms a tumor that can spread outside the kidney Some cells break off into clumps and spread (metastasize) to distant organs of the body
Kidney cancer rarely causes signs or symptoms in its early stages Later, possible symptoms are:
- Blood in the urine, pink, red or brown in color
- Back pain under the ribs that lasts
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Intermittent fever
