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Kidney Cancer Treatment Options

Kidney cancer refers to cancer that originates in one or both kidneys. The most common type of cancer is caused by renal cell carcinoma, which is responsible for nine out of every 10 cases of cancer. Many of the standard forms of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation, are not effective methods of treating kidney cancer; surgery and biotherapy are usually recommended.

  1. Surgery

    • There are two surgery options for kidney cancer partials. The first is a complete or radical nephrectomy. This involves removal of the entire kidney that is affected with cancer. This is usually recommended for most patients because it ensures all the cancer cells are removed. Patients can still function normally with one kidney, after a period of recovery. However, if patients have another health condition or impairment that inhibits their other kidney from functioning normally and/or if there are cancer cells in both kidneys, a radical nephrectomy may not be recommended. If a radical nephrectomy would result in a loss of normal kidney function, a partial nephrectomy may be performed. This involves removing only the portion of the kidney with cancer cells. Radical nephrectomies are most effective when the tumor is 4 cm in length or smaller, although they can work on patients with tumors up to 7 cm in length.

    Surgical Alternatives

    • Some patients are not healthy enough to withstand even a partial nephrectomy, because of age or other impairment. These patients still need treatment to destroy the cancer cells. Standard systemic chemotherapy (chemotherapy delivered intravenously) is not usually effective. Alternatives to surgery include cyrosurgery (freezing the cancer cells), radiofrequency ablation (burning off the cancer cells) and embolization (cutting off the blood supply to the tumor).

    Biotherapy and Drug Therapy

    • Biotherapy and drug therapy can be administered as stand-alone treatments, or in addition to surgery or a surgical alternative. They can be administered as curative treatments, to attempt to cure cancer, or as palliative treatments, to relieve pain and extend life in patients with incurable kidney cancer. Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Temsirolimus, Everolimus and Bevacizumab are the drugs used in the treatment of kidney cancer. They work by interfering with tumor growth, either by cutting off oxygen, blood or another growth factor to the tumor. Biotherapy has also proven very effective at treating kidney cancer in some patients. Biotherapy involves stimulating the body's own defenses against the cancer. Cytokines, the biotherapy used in kidney cancer treatment, works in between 10 percent and 20 percent of patients, to shrink tumors up to 50 percent of their size.

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