Kidney cancer is a disease where abnormal cells grow in the kidney and form a tumor.

What are the kidneys?

• Two bean-shaped organs, one on each side of the spine.
• Their job is to filter blood, remove waste and extra fluid as urine, and help control blood pressure.

What is kidney cancer?

• It happens when cells in the kidney grow uncontrollably.
• The most common type is renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
• Less common types include urothelial carcinoma (starts in the lining of the kidney’s drainage system) and Wilmstumor (a childhood kidney cancer).

Risk factors

• Smoking
• Obesity
• High blood pressure
• Family history or inherited conditions (e.g., von Hippel–Lindau disease)
• Long-term dialysis

Symptoms (sometimes no early signs)

• Blood in the urine (pink, red, or cola-colored)
• Pain in the side or lower back (flank pain)
• A lump or mass in the side of the abdomen
• Unexplained weight loss, fever, fatigue

Diagnosis

• Imaging tests (Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI)
• Urine and blood tests
• Sometimes a biopsy to confirm