Can kidney cancer that has spread to the lungs be cured?

Written by Wang Jian
Urology
Updated on December 14, 2024
00:00
00:00

Kidney cancer usually reaches an advanced stage by the time it metastasizes to the lungs, leading to a generally low survival rate. For early and intermediate-stage kidney cancer patients, surgical treatment is typically employed. However, in advanced stages, especially when there are lung metastases, surgical methods are often not suitable. However, if the metastatic foci are small, it is still recommended to remove them surgically. Immunotherapy can be used for lung metastases, such as using interferon or targeted therapy. Targeted therapy tends to be effective, commonly using drugs like sorafenib and sunitinib for first-line or second-line treatment of metastatic kidney cancer. Although a complete cure is not possible, these treatments can significantly prolong the patient's lifespan, improve survival rates, and alleviate symptoms.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Yuan Wei
Urology
53sec home-news-image

Is nephroblastoma a type of kidney cancer?

From a broad perspective, nephroblastoma belongs to kidney cancer, but its characteristics are still different. Nephroblastoma, also known as Wilms' tumor or embryonal tumor of the kidney, is the most common malignant kidney tumor in children, generally 80% of cases occur before the age of five, with an average age of about 3.5 years. The main manifestation is an abdominal mass, most often incidentally discovered by parents or doctors. Diagnosis is generally made through renal ultrasound as an initial screening, while renal CT and MRI can clearly show the extent of the tumor and the surrounding lymph nodes and organs, and whether renal blood vessels are involved. Chest X-rays or CT scans can determine if there are any lung metastases.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
39sec home-news-image

What are the common symptoms of kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer is a malignant tumor of the renal parenchymal tissue. Some patients do not have specific symptoms, especially in the early stages. As the disease progresses, patients may find a mass in the abdomen. Some patients may experience back pain due to the enlargement of the kidney pressing against the renal capsule. Some patients experience bleeding due to the gradual rupture of the tumor, causing visible blood in the urine, which sometimes appears as painless throughout the blood in the urine. These symptoms may indicate the presence of a malignant tumor in the kidney, and diagnosis needs to be confirmed through ultrasound and CT scans.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
57sec home-news-image

Can renal cancer be detected by ultrasound?

Ultrasound is a type of imaging examination that can observe the size, shape, structure, texture, and the presence of masses in the organs being examined. It can be used to determine if a patient potentially has kidney-related masses, such as differentiating between a kidney cyst and kidney cancer based on differences in shape and blood supply that malignant tumors typically exhibit compared to other conditions. However, using ultrasound to diagnose kidney cancer can be inaccurate, particularly in the early stages of the disease when ultrasound may not provide a clear view, and some complex cases of kidney cancer may still be indeterminate. Therefore, patients might consider undergoing an enhanced CT scan, which offers a higher diagnostic accuracy. Additionally, a kidney biopsy and pathological examination might be necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Jian
Urology
58sec home-news-image

Treatment Plans for Renal Cancer

The treatment principles for kidney cancer vary depending on the stage of the cancer. For localized or locally advanced kidney cancer, surgical treatment is primarily used. For advanced kidney cancer, a comprehensive medical treatment approach is mainly used. Surgical treatment is typically the first choice for treating kidney cancer and is currently recognized as a curative method. In early stages, kidney-sparing surgery or radical nephrectomy can be performed using either laparoscopic or open surgery. For mid to late-stage kidney cancer patients, radical nephrectomy is commonly performed as an open surgery. For advanced kidney cancer, treatment primarily involves medical management, which may include surgical removal of the affected kidney. Additionally, treatments can be supplemented with immunotherapy or targeted therapy to improve treatment efficacy. Therefore, different stages of kidney cancer require different treatment plans.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Guan Hai Fang
Urology
59sec home-news-image

Can kidney cancer be cured?

Kidney cancer, if detected early and treated effectively, can potentially have favorable outcomes. However, early-stage kidney cancer often lacks distinct symptoms, leading to misdiagnosis. Symptoms such as hematuria, pain, and palpable masses typically indicate an advanced stage. Therefore, any of these symptoms should be taken seriously. Urine cytology, blood biochemical tests, and ultrasound are quite sensitive for the detection of renal tumors. X-ray images may show a prominent localized contour of the kidney with speckled or incomplete shell-like calcifications. Excretory or retrograde pyelography can reveal compression of the renal pelvis and calyces, showing irregular deformations and possibly filling defects. If necessary, isotope scanning, percutaneous renal biopsy, or fine needle aspiration cytology may be conducted.