Kidney transplantation

Kidney Cancer - Causes, Symptoms, Risks Factors and More

2010-05-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

Kidney cancer or renal carcinoma usually occurs in older people and accounts for about 2 to 3% of cancers in adults, affecting about twice as many men as women. In adults, the most common type of kidney tumor is renal cell carcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the small tubes within your kidneys. Kidney cancer rarely strikes children and young adults; the exceptions are a pediatric kidney cancer called Wilms tumor and some forms of hereditary kidney cancer syndromes, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Causes of Kidney Cancer

The causes are not known, however external factors, such as smoking and obesity, have been related to a higher incidence of kidney cancer and changing environmental factors as well as population aging has seen an increase in the presentation of this form of cancer.

Signs and Symptoms

Kidney cancer symptoms are often overlooked because tumours are usually slow growing and not suspected until the patient begins to experience symptoms such as blood in the urine, pain, tiredness and a palpable mass. Since back pain is common among people over 40 years of age, such pain is often ignored and the presence of kidney cancer can go undetected. Kidney cancer may also cause high blood pressure.

Risk Factors

The risk of developing kidney cancer is four times higher if a close relative has had kidney cancer. Being on dialysis for many years is a risk factor for kidney cancer.

People who have had bladder cancer are more likely to develop kidney cancer, and vice versa. About three per cent of kidney cancer patients have inherited a damaged gene that will make it likely the cancer will also be found in their second kidney.

Prevention

Not smoking is the most effective way to prevent kidney cancer and it is estimated that the elimination of smoking would reduce the rate of renal pelvis cancer by one-half and the rate of renal cell carcinoma by one-third.

Other factors that may decrease the risk of developing kidney cancer include: maintaining a normal body weight, a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, especially in bananas and root vegetables such as carrots, maintaining normal blood pressure and limited exposure to environmental toxins.

Diagnosing Kidney Cancer

Cancer of the kidney is most commonly detected with either computed tomography (CT) scan, ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cystoscopy can rule out associated bladder cancer. Kidney cancer cells may also break away from the original tumor and spread (or metastasize) to other parts of the body such as the lymph nodes, bones or lungs, with about one third of cases showing metastasis at the time of diagnosis.

Types of Kidney Cancer

Almost 85% of this tumor are renal cell carcinomas. A less common type of kidney is Papillary carcinoma. Other rare kidney cancers include: Renal sarcoma, Collecting Duct carcinoma, Medullary and Chromophobe carcinomas.

Treatment

Radical nephrectomy with or without the removal of lymph nodes offers the only cure but treatment of kidney cancer may include: surgery, arterial embolization, radiation therapy, biological therapy or chemotherapy depends upon the stage of the disease and the patient's overall health.

Nephrectomy or removal of the entire organ including the adrenal gland, adjacent lymph nodes and surrounding normal tissue has been the norm, but recent research shows that removal of just the tumor, produces similar survival rates and offers less chance of subsequent renal failure in selected cases.

Scientists have also isolated the gene responsible for VHL disease, and this discovery offers exciting future possibilities for improved diagnosis and treatment of some kidney cancers. Various combinations of interleukin-2, interferon, and other biologic agents and even vaccines developed from cells removed from the kidney cancer are also being investigated.

Survival Rates

With prompt and appropriate treatment, the kidney cancer mortality rate is fairly low, unfortunately kidney cancer has a tendency to spread early, especially to the lungs, sometimes before symptoms develop. The five year survival rate is around 90-95% for tumors less than 4 cm. For larger tumors confined to the kidney without venous invasion, survival is still relatively good at 80-85%. If it has metastasized to the lymph nodes, the 5-year survival is around 5 % to 15 %. If it has spread metastatically to other organs, the 5-year survival rate is less than 5 %.

An important factor for those with this form of cancer and for that matter with all cancers is that assertive patients who actively work to overcome cancer often increase the odds of survival, live longer, and enjoy life more.

Dick Aronson has a background of over 35 years in various facets of the Healthcare industry. He set up and ran clinical trials in more than 20 countries and he has also founded a number of small private health related businesses. Dick now runs a number of informative health websites Go to Health Innovations Online and Go to Cancer Information Online

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dick_Aronson

kidney stone symptoms

2009-11-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

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Kidney Cancer - Causes, Symptoms, Risks Factors and More

2009-08-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

Kidney Cancer - Causes, Symptoms, Risks Factors and More

Causes of Kidney Cancer

Signs and Symptoms

Risk Factors

The risk of developing kidney cancer is four times higher if a close relative has had kidney cancer. Being on dialysis for many years is a risk factor for kidney cancer.

Prevention

Diagnosing Kidney Cancer

Types of Kidney Cancer

Treatment

Survival Rates

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dick_Aronson

Kidney Transplantation

2009-07-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Also called: Renal transplantation
A kidney transplant is an operation that places a healthy kidney in your body. The transplanted kidney takes over the work of the two kidneys that failed, and you no longer need dialysis.

During a transplant, the surgeon places the new kidney in your lower abdomen and connects the artery and vein of the new kidney to your artery and vein. Often, the new kidney will start making urine as soon as your blood starts flowing through it. But sometimes it takes a few weeks to start working.

Many transplanted kidneys come from donors who have died. Some come from a living family member. The wait for a new kidney can be long. People who have transplants must take drugs to keep their body from rejecting the new kidney for the rest of their lives.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Kidney Transplantation - The Alternative Treatment For Kidney Through Transplantation

2009-06-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

By MC Raflesia

Kidney transplantation is a practice that puts a healthy kidney from another person into your body. This one new kidney takes over the work of your two failed kidneys. Kidney transplantation is the organ transplant of a kidney in a patient with end-stage renal disease.

Once a person's kidneys fail, three medication alternatives are on hand: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation. A lot of patients consider that a doing well kidney transplant offers a improved value of life since it lets greater freedom and frequently is related with energy levels greater than before and a less restricted diet. In settling on whether this is the best medication for you, you can get it useful to have a discussion to people who by now have had a kidney transplant. In addition, you required to talk to your doctor, nurse and also family members.

If you suffer advanced and enduring kidney failure, kidney transplantation possibly will be the treatment alternative that lets you to live much like you lived before your kidneys failed. Transplantation is not a cure; it's a constant treatment that necessitates you to get medicines for the rest of your life.

Several transplanted kidneys originate from donors who have died. And some derive from a living family member. The wait for a new kidney can be long. Individuals who have transplants have to take drugs to protect their body from refusing the new kidney for the rest of their lives.

The sign for kidney transplantation is end-stage renal disease, despite the main cause. This is described as a drop in the glomerular filtration rate to 20-25% of normal. General diseases causing end-stage renal disease consist of malignant hypertension, infections, diabetes mellitus and glomerulonephritis; genetic causes comprising polycystic kidney disease in addition to many inborn errors of metabolism and autoimmune conditions together with lupus and Goodpasture's syndrome.

Diabetes is the most general reason of kidney transplant, accounting for about 25% of persons in the US. The greater part of renal transplant recipients are on some type of dialysis - hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or the similar procedure of hemofiltration - at the occasion of transplantation. On the other hand, people with chronic renal failure who have a living donor available frequently choose to undertake transplantation prior to dialysis is required.

There are some significant things to think about when choosing a kidney transplant center and surgeon, comprising survival rates, program longevity, contribution in research and the records of the physicians and staff.

If you want to get some excellent resources on kidney, please visit my site on You and Your Kidney or Kidney Transplantation

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=MC_Raflesia

Kidney Transplantation Definition

2009-06-17T05:42:00.000-07:00

Kidney transplantation or renal transplantation is the organ transplant of a kidney in a patient with end-stage renal disease. Kidney transplantation is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantation depending on the source of the recipient organ. Living-donor renal transplants are further characterized as genetically related (living-related) or non-related (living-unrelated) transplants, depending on whether a biological relationship exists between the donor and recipient.

Kidney Transplantation

2009-05-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Kidneys Donated After Cardiac Death Cut Racial Disparities

2008-08-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

By Robert Preidt

Using kidneys from donors who died of cardiovascular causes may help reduce disparities for black patients awaiting a kidney transplant, says a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Black patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) comprise more than a third of the more than 70,000 Americans currently on the kidney transplant waiting list but are 2.7 times less likely than white patients to receive a new kidney, according to background information in the study. In addition, black patients are more likely than white patients to suffer kidney failure after transplantation.

Currently, kidneys from donors who've suffered brain death are commonly used for transplantation, while kidneys from people who've suffered cardiac death are rarely used, even though the use of such organs could increase the supply available for transplantation.

In this study, the Hopkins researchers compared the outcomes of more than 100,000 adults who received a deceased donor kidney transplant between 1993 and 2006. Among black patients, those who received kidneys from black cardiac death donors had better long-term kidney and patient survival than those who received kidneys from non-black donors.

The study also found that, compared with standard-criteria kidneys from white donors after brain death, kidneys from black donors after cardiac death conferred a 70 percent reduction in the risk of kidney loss and a 59 percent reduction in risk of death among black recipients.

Racial disparities were reduced when kidneys were donated after cardiac death compared with kidneys donated after brain death, the researchers found.

"These findings suggest that kidneys obtained from black donors after cardiac death may afford the best long-term survival for black recipients," the study authors wrote. In addition, their findings suggest that increased use of kidneys donated after cardiac death may reduce the shortage of available kidneys and decrease disparities for black patients.

The study was published online and was expected to be in the October print issue of the American Journal of Nephrology.

Kidney Transplantation

2008-08-18T09:44:00.000-07:00