Cancer with hardly any symptoms that appears after 50, but with significant levels of survival

The advancement and improvement of therapeutic treatments carried out in recent years in kidney cancer is significantly increasing the survival of patients suffering from kidney cancer in Spain, especially in the case of metastatic tumors.

As highlighted by the experts of the Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), on the occasion of the World Kidney Cancer Day which is celebrated on the third Thursday of the month of June. In this case, today, June 20, he wanted to report on the situation of kidney tumors in our country.

SEN experts report that kidney cancer is a more common tumor in men, which mainly affects people over the age of 50 and of which about 9,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in our country. Kidney cancer is a neoplasm that is characterized by its difficult diagnosis, especially in the initial stages, in which it hardly shows symptoms and that is often detected through incidental medical tests (urological tests, abdominal ultrasounds, etc.). .).

He Kidney cancer It is a tumor that appears more frequently among men, and mainly affects people over 50 years of age. “Among the measures that could contribute to this, we can highlight performing screening tests on patients over 50 years of age, especially those who have greater risk factors for this type of tumor, performing periodic medical check-ups and tests that involve ultrasounds.” abdominal pain, which will allow us to continue advancing in its early diagnosis and treatment in the early stages.”

There are various types of kidney tumors (both benign and malignant), although the most common is clear cell carcinomawhich represents around 80% of kidney tumor cases.

In addition to these, papillary carcinomas are also diagnosed, between 10 and 15% of cases of kidney tumors, and chromophobe carcinoma, which affects 5% of patients with kidney cancer.

A tumor with hardly any symptoms

As with other tumors, kidney cancer is a neoplasm that is characterized by its difficult diagnosis, especially in the initial stages, in which it hardly shows symptoms.

In fact, on many occasions doctors detect it by chance when testing the patient for any other problem or even on a routine basis.

Despite this, 1 in 10 patients do experience some discomfort such as:

• Pain in the side.

• Detection of a lump in the abdomen.

• Blood in the urine.

• Symptoms common to the appearance of any type of cancer, such as weight loss, fever, anemia or loss of appetite.

“Among the measures that could contribute to this, we can highlight performing screening tests on patients over 50 years of age, especially those who have greater risk factors for this type of tumor, performing periodic medical check-ups and tests that involve ultrasounds.” abdominal pain, which will allow us to continue advancing in early diagnosis and treatment in the early stages,” highlights the president of the SEN, Dr. Emilio Sánchez.

But where the most progress has been made in recent years is in metastatic kidney cancer, that is, one in which the tumor has spread to other organs or parts of the body.

Its incidence is growing, in line with the increase in cancer cases in general, due to risk factors such as:

• tobacco

• The obesity

• High blood pressure

• Acquired kidney cystic disease in patients undergoing dialysis (30% of these patients will develop kidney cancer)

hereditary factors; but it is also due to improvements in diagnostic techniques. There are various types of kidney tumors (both benign and malignant), although the most common is clear cell carcinoma, which represents around 80% of kidney tumor cases.

In this sense, greater promotion of early diagnosis in people at greater risk of having this type of tumor would contribute to detecting them earlier, and, therefore, to treating them more effectively and increasing the survival and cure of patients.

“It would be interesting to commit to performing screening tests on patients over 50 years of age, especially in those who have the oldest risk factor’s in the face of this type of tumors, such as They are hypertension, obesity, family history and tobacco. By carrying out periodic medical check-ups, with tests that involve abdominal ultrasounds, for example, we would continue to make notable progress in the diagnosis,” adds the nephrologist.

Nefrotox, prevention of pharmacological effects on the kidney

The SEN also wants to underline the importance of the implications that cancer treatment in general can have on the appearance or worsening of kidney diseases, since some drugs used in the treatment of tumors can have harmful or toxic effects on the kidneys, and generate problems and complications in patients who already have kidney pathologies.

With the aim of understanding these toxicity effects and guaranteeing the correct therapeutic treatment and quality of life of patients, the SEN has the NEFROTOX initiative, an app and website on the nephrotoxicity of oncological drugs and the consequences that their administration can have. in patients.

This application offers useful information on the main renal complications and the internal environment of chemotherapy treatments commonly used in Oncology, so that it brings together the knowledge available in this field quickly, efficiently and usefully, thus becoming an important tool for work. diary of the clinical health professional involved in the treatment of oncology and kidney patients.

This initiative, a pioneer in Spain, “allows nephrologists and oncologists to establish measures and actions to improve the pharmacological treatment of patients and their health and quality of life, avoiding the impact of complications or toxic side effects,” states the president of the SEN, Dr. Sánchez.

“It is of great practical help because, although much progress has been made with new drugs and treatments against cancer, they are not free of kidney complications. And knowing them all through NEFROTOX is key to the therapeutic and diagnostic management of patients.”