Renal pelvis tumors are rare and may be cancerous. Treatment involves removing the tumor or the entire kidney, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Risk factors include obesity, smoking, and family history. Symptoms include blood in urine, back pain, weight loss, fever, and fatigue. Diagnosis involves blood and urine tests, imaging, and sometimes a biopsy.
A renal pelvis tumor is a tumor that develops in the renal pelvis area of the kidneys. This is the area in the anterior section of the kidney where several calyxes converge and serves as a funnel system for the urine produced by the kidneys. It is an area that can be affected by different types of kidney cancer.
Growth of a tumor in the renal pelvis is uncommon. Such tumors may be cancer, but this type of cancer is relatively rare and accounts for only a small percentage, about 10 to 90 percent, of all kidney cancer cases. Most kidney cancers are found in other areas of the kidney, and 100% of those cancers are typically transitional cell cancers.
Treatment for renal pelvic cancer depends on the exact location of the tumor, its size, and how aggressive it is. In most cases, the tumor itself or the entire kidney will be removed. Subsequent treatment depends on many variables, but often includes chemotherapy and may include radiation treatments as well.
There are no known causes specifically related to the onset of renal pelvis cancer, but some risk factors have been identified. Obesity is known to significantly increase a person’s risk of getting this type of cancer and other kidney cancers. Smoking creates a similar type of risk, and both older people and men get this cancer more often than others. People with a family history of kidney cancer are at a significantly higher risk of developing it themselves and should be alert to possible symptoms.
In the early stages, detecting renal pelvis cancer can be very difficult, as there may not be any obvious signs of a problem. As the tumor grows, symptoms may include blood in the urine and persistent back pain. Unexplained weight loss is also a sign of a serious problem. A fever that comes and goes can also indicate kidney cancer, and an overwhelming sense of tiredness can also alert a doctor to the presence of renal pelvis cancer.
Tests to diagnose renal pelvic cancer almost always begin with a thorough blood and urine screen. Any irregularities can signal the next step, which is typically a form of imaging such as ultrasound or computed tomography (CT). Depending on the doctor’s preference, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may also be used. In some cases, a kidney biopsy is done, but because this can often produce inaccurate results, a biopsy is not common when diagnosing kidney cancer.
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