Renal Carcinoma Treatment

Renal cell cancer (or carcinoma) is the most common type of kidney cancer, responsible for nine out of every 10 kidney cancer diagnoses, according to the American Cancer Society. There are several different types of renal cell carcinomas, including clear cell, papillary cell, chromophobe, collecting duct and unclassified renal cell carcinoma. The treatment for these different cancers is largely the same, since the difference is distinguishable only under a microscope.

Surgery

• Surgical treatments usually are recommended for renal cell carcinoma. The most common type of surgical treatment, according to the American Cancer Society, is a radical nephrectomy. This involves removal of the entire kidney that has the tumor in it. If the cancer is in both kidneys, or if the kidney that would remain after surgery is impaired and normal kidney function would no longer be possible if a radical nephrectomy takes place, you and your physician may explore other surgical options.

  The main alternative to a radical nephrectomy is a partial nephrectomy, which involves removing only the portion of the kidney that contains the cancer. The surgery works best for patients with tumors 7 cm or smaller.

Alternatives to Surgery

• For patients who can't undergo surgery due to impaired health, doctors use alternate options to treat the primary cancer in the kidneys. These options include cyrosurgery (freezing of cancer cells), radiofrequency ablation (burning cancer cells using needles, directing high-energy waves at the cells), arterial embolization (blocking the blood supply to the tumor), and radiation.

Drug & Biotherapy

• Targeted drug therapy is useful for treating patients with renal cell carcinoma, either in addition to surgery or other therapy, or as a standalone treatment designed to prolong life in advanced kidney cancer, where surgery is not an option. These targeted drug therapies are used in place of chemotherapy, which has proven to be largely ineffective at slowing or stopping the spread of renal cell carcinoma. Sorafenib, sunitinib, temsirolimus, everolimus, and bevacizumab all interfere with or stop the growth of cancer cells by cutting off the tumors' access to vital growth factors (including blood and oxygen).

  Biotherapy is also useful in treating and managing kidney cancer. The purpose of biotherapy is to boost your body's own immune system so your body can fight the cancer on its own. Cytokines is the form of biotherapy used most often in kidney cancers, and the American Cancer Society reports that cytokines can cause a tumor to shrink up to 50 percent in approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of patients.