Understanding Kidney Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

August 19th, 2025 by Dr Josh M Randall

This disease can be asymptomatic for a long time. Then, suddenly, a person feels pain in the side, weakness, anemia, weight loss and may also notice blood in the urine. Kidney cancer is one of the ten most common types of cancer in people in the United States. It accounts for about 4-5% of all cancer cases. The earlier doctors detect the disease, the greater the patient’s chances for recovery. Let’s discuss the symptoms of kidney cancer that you should pay attention to first!

What Is Kidney Cancer?

It is a malignant tumor that affects the kidney tissue (parenchyma) or the urine collecting system (pelvicalyceal system). It occurs when normal kidney cells begin to divide uncontrollably and form a tumor that can spread to neighboring organs and tissues and metastasize. People with kidney cancer may experience lower back pain, high blood pressure, and blood in the urine. Treatment for kidney cancer includes chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. It is essential to take action in time. For the first symptoms, consult a doctor.

What Is the Leading Cause of Kidney Cancer?

Doctors wonder what the leading cause of this disease is. Unfortunately, the exact causes are unknown. However, some factors can provoke the disease. If you want to prevent this disease, you should quit smoking. The more a person smokes, the higher the likelihood of developing kidney cancer. Obesity, CC, and hypertension are also significant risk factors. Women who have undergone radiation therapy for cancer of the reproductive organs may have a slightly increased risk of developing kidney cancer. Those with a corresponding family history should also be careful.

Changes in specific genes can increase the risk of developing kidney cancer. People who have undergone long-term dialysis treatment are at risk. This is purifying the blood by passing it through a special machine. Tuberous sclerosis is a disease that causes seizures and intellectual disability, as well as the formation of tumors in many organs.

Kidney Cancer Diagnostics

If the patient has noticed signs of kidney cancer or suspects that they have the disease, they should contact their doctor. A specialist will collect a complete anamnesis and conduct an examination. It is important to determine whether blood is in the urine, because this is a clear sign. Blood tests count the number of each type of blood cell and determine the level of electrolytes in the body. If the patient has anemia, that is, a deficiency of red blood cells, or impaired kidney function (which is determined by the level of creatinine), this is a cause for serious concern. Magnetic resonance imaging allows you to get images of internal organs.

Ultrasound involves the use of high-frequency sound waves passing through body tissues to create images that are displayed on a monitor. This advanced research method helps detect tumors whose density differs from that of healthy tissue.

CT is a special X-ray procedure that creates images of internal organs. It usually involves the intravenous administration of a contrast agent (dye). But be careful! People with impaired renal function may be contraindicated for the administration of a contrast agent. A kidney tissue biopsy is also an essential procedure. The doctor inserts a thin needle into the tumor and takes a small tissue sample. The specialist examines the tissue for cancer cells under a microscope. Unfortunately, this procedure is not always entirely reliable for kidney cancer. In general, the list of tests is determined by a specialist.

Kidney Cancer Symptoms

In the early stages, kidney cancer is often asymptomatic. That is why the disease is sometimes not detected in time. Sometimes the doctor notices the disease when the tumor has begun to spread beyond the kidney. So, you should be very careful when detecting:

Blood in the Urine (Hematuria)

Sometimes, urine takes on a pink, red, or brown tint. Sometimes, the amount of blood in the urine is so small that it can only be detected by laboratory analysis.

Often accompanied by painless urination. And this is most likely a sign of kidney cancer. After all, with infections, as a rule, with blood in the urine, painful urination is observed.

Palpable Formation in the Kidney Area

In some cases, a person can even feel a lump or tumor on the side or in the lumbar region. However, a lump is often detected during a medical examination or ultrasound.

Pain in the Side (Lumbar Pain)

It is localized in the back or hypochondrium (on one side). Such pain can be dull, aching, or intensified with movement. Sometimes the pain is associated with rapid tumor growth or bleeding into the kidney tissue. And this is a severe sign.

General Symptoms

These signs are often non-specific but may indirectly indicate the development of an oncological process:

• general malaise;
• constant fatigue and weakness;
• subfebrile temperature (37-38°C) without an apparent cause.
• loss of appetite;
• unintentional weight loss;

Anemia

It develops due to a decrease in the production of erythropoietin in the kidney or chronic blood loss. Accompanied by pale skin, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

High Blood Pressure

Kidney cancer can disrupt the production of hormones that regulate blood pressure, leading to hypertension that does not respond to conventional therapy.

Bone Pain

It can occur with metastasis (spread of cancer) to bone tissue.

Accompanied by an increased risk of fractures.

High Calcium Levels in the Blood (Hypercalcemia)

Can manifest as nausea, vomiting, constipation, muscle weakness, and abnormal heart rhythms. A consequence of metabolic changes caused by the tumor. Early kidney cancer rarely manifests itself with obvious signs. However, any combination of the above symptoms, especially hematuria and lumbar pain, requires a visit to the doctor.

Treatment for Kidney Cancer

How to treat kidney cancer? Much depends on the tumor’s stage and degree of malignancy, as well as the patient’s age and general health. The attending physician will determine all the nuances and study the patient’s medical history and other parameters in detail. GU specialists apply surgical removal, ablation (destruction of the tumor with cold or heat), targeted or radiation therapy, and immunotherapy, and, in some cases, chemotherapy is indicated. In general, surgical treatment is the primary and most effective method for most stages of kidney cancer.

• Radical nephrectomy involves removing the entire kidney along with surrounding tissues, sometimes along with nearby lymph nodes.
• Partial nephrectomy involves removing only the area of the kidney with the tumor, preserving the maximum volume of healthy organ tissue.

Ablation (destruction of the tumor) is indicated for patients who cannot undergo surgery.

Cryoablation involves the doctor inserting a needle into the tumor through the skin, through which cold gas is supplied, freezing and destroying cancer cells. Radiofrequency ablation is when a needle is inserted into the tumor, passing an electric current and destroying pathological tissue.

Radiation therapy is used if the patient has only one kidney or if surgery is not possible. It is often used to relieve symptoms (for example, pain relief from metastases) rather than for radical treatment. Targeted therapy blocks certain molecular mechanisms that help cancer cells grow and survive.

Chemotherapy is not a standard method for kidney cancer, since this type of tumor is less sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. For example, a doctor may prescribe it for aggressive forms of the disease.

Conclusions

If you have noticed the corresponding symptoms, contact Orange County Urology Associates, a leading center for urological care. We guarantee professional, patient-oriented urological care. Sensitive specialists at our clinic will conduct diagnostics, answer all your questions, and, if necessary, provide treatment at the highest level. Contact us!