Kidney cancer is a disease in which the cells in certain tissues of the kidney start to grow uncontrollably and form tumors. Renal cell carcinoma, sometimes referred to as hypernephroma, occurs in the cells lining the kidneys (epithelial cells). It is the most common type of kidney cancer. Eighty-five percent of all kidney tumors are renal cell carcinomas. Wilms' tumor is a rapidly developing cancer of the kidney most often found in children under four years of age.
Description
The kidneys are a pair of organs shaped like kidney beans that lie on either side of the spine just above the waist. Inside each kidney are tiny tubes (tubules) that filter and clean the blood, taking out the waste products and making urine. The urine that is made by the kidney passes through a tube called the ureter into the bladder. Urine is held in the bladder until it is discharged from the body. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) generally develops in the lining of the tubules that filter and clean the blood. Cancer that develops in the central portion of the kidney (where the urine is collected and drained into the ureters) is known as transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. Transitional cell cancer is similar to bladder cancer. Wilms' tumor is the most common type of childhood kidney cancer and is distinct from kidney cancer in adults.
Demographics
Kidney cancer accounts for approximately 3% of all cancers. In the United States, kidney cancer is the tenth most common cancer and the incidence has increased by 43% since 1973; the death rate has increased by 16%. There are approximately 20, 000 new cases of kidney cancer found each year. There are approximately 95, 000 deaths per year worldwide due to kidney cancer. RCC accounts for 90-95% of malignant neoplasms that originate from the kidney.
Kidney cancer occurs most often in men over the age of 40. The median age of diagnosis is 65. Men are twice as likely as women are to have cancer of the kidney.
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