What are the characteristic symptoms of kidney cancer?

Written by Zou De Bo
Urology
Updated on September 06, 2024
00:00
00:00

Most kidney cancer patients are discovered during health check-ups, and these patients may account for over 50%-60% of all kidney cancer cases. Among those with symptoms, the most common symptoms are lower back pain and blood in urine. A few patients also present with abdominal masses. 10%-40% of patients can exhibit paraneoplastic syndromes, manifested as high blood pressure, anemia, weight loss, cachexia, fever, abnormal liver function, hyperglycemia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and other changes. Additionally, symptoms such as bone pain, fractures, cough, and coughing blood can occur due to tumor metastasis.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zou De Bo
Urology
45sec home-news-image

What are the characteristic symptoms of kidney cancer?

Most kidney cancer patients are discovered during health check-ups, and these patients may account for over 50%-60% of all kidney cancer cases. Among those with symptoms, the most common symptoms are lower back pain and blood in urine. A few patients also present with abdominal masses. 10%-40% of patients can exhibit paraneoplastic syndromes, manifested as high blood pressure, anemia, weight loss, cachexia, fever, abnormal liver function, hyperglycemia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and other changes. Additionally, symptoms such as bone pain, fractures, cough, and coughing blood can occur due to tumor metastasis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
48sec home-news-image

Can kidney cancer patients be contagious?

Kidney cancer is not an infectious disease, so it is not contagious. Kidney cancer actually occurs when carcinogenic changes happen in the epithelial cells of the renal tubules, leading to the formation of masses and blood in the urine within the kidneys, and can even cause kidney failure. Moreover, kidney cancer carries a certain risk of metastasis, potentially causing damage to other organs. This disease is not contagious. The so-called infectiousness of a disease is due to the presence of pathogens that can cause infection. For example, hepatitis B can be transmitted because carriers have the hepatitis B virus in their bodies. Kidney cancer, however, does not involve viruses, bacteria, or fungi, so it is not infectious.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zou De Bo
Urology
50sec home-news-image

The typical three major symptoms of kidney cancer

The typical three major symptoms of kidney cancer are hematuria, pain, and a mass. If these three symptoms appear, it generally indicates that the condition has reached an advanced stage, at which point the patient may have missed the optimal timing for treatment. Surgery at this stage may also be challenging to perform completely. Therefore, early detection and treatment are essential. The five-year survival rate after kidney cancer surgery is as high as 97% for many people. Thus, overall, the prognosis for kidney cancer is relatively good. However, the best treatment approach remains surgery, including nephron-sparing surgery and radical nephrectomy, depending on the size of the tumor. Generally, for tumors smaller than four centimeters, nephron-sparing treatment can be adopted.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
1min 3sec home-news-image

What are the early symptoms of kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer is a common malignant tumor in the urinary system. Many patients with early-stage kidney cancer do not show any symptoms clinically and are incidentally discovered during medical examinations. Many patients in the early stages may also present with painless hematuria, sometimes as gross hematuria and sometimes as microscopic hematuria. Some patients may experience pain in the kidney area due to blood clots formed after hematuria, mainly presenting as intermittent episodes of mild back pain. Additionally, some patients in the early stages might show symptoms of paraneoplastic syndrome, such as hypertension and fever, but these clinical symptoms generally occur at a very low frequency. When patients present with obvious clinical symptoms, it often indicates that the kidney cancer has metastasized, leading to a clinical presentation of mid-to-late stage kidney cancer.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zou De Bo
Urology
1min 20sec home-news-image

Post-nephrectomy care for renal cancer

Postoperative care measures for kidney cancer primarily include observing the patient's vital signs. After a radical nephrectomy for a large renal tumor, a significant amount of tissue is removed including the kidney, surrounding adrenal fat, and lymph nodes at the renal hilum, which results in larger surgical wounds and potentially more bleeding. Therefore, it is crucial to closely monitor for signs of bleeding and ensure that transfusions and fluid administrations are unobstructed. Secondly, careful observation and management of the wound drainage tubes are required. Thirdly, for radical nephrectomies, once the patient is past the anesthesia phase and the blood pressure is stable, a semi-reclined position can be adopted. Patients who have undergone partial nephrectomy should remain in bed for one to two weeks to prevent further bleeding, and kidney functions should be monitored. Additionally, attention should be paid to symptoms such as breath holding and difficulty in breathing. Postoperative feeding should commence once gastrointestinal function is restored; thereafter, nutrition should be enhanced to boost bodily resistance. Calming medications may be appropriately used to ease pain, facilitating movement, effective coughing, and expectoration.