While there were many deaths, the cause of which could not be understood in the past, with the developing medical technology, there has been an increase in cancer cases due to the fact that cancer and some other diseases can be diagnosed more easily today. Kidney and adrenal cancers, which are among the cancer types, cause serious health problems both by preventing the function of the kidney in the body and by preventing the function of the adrenal glands (adrenal glands), which are hormone-secreting glands with important functions.
What are Kidney and Adrenal Gland Cancers?
The first of the disease groups that cause the most death in our country and all over the world are cardiovascular diseases and the second is cancers. Especially in recent years, the incidence of cancer has increased due to reasons such as changing diet, exposure to radiation and increased contact with carcinogenic substances.
Early diagnosis and treatment brings important advantages in terms of preventing spread to surrounding tissues and organs in addition to preserving organ functions. For this reason, it is very important to have routine health checks done on time, and for patients with symptoms of kidney and adrenal cancer to undergo a medical examination as soon as possible.
Kidneys; These are our organs that have two organs, one on the right and one on the left, in the lumbar cavity, which has important tasks such as purifying the blood from waste materials and removing excess water, salt and minerals from the body. There are adrenal glands located in two layers on both kidneys. Adrenal glands, also called adrenal glands, are endocrine glands responsible for hormone production and secretion. The adrenal glands have two layers, the pith (medulla) and the shell (cortex).
Hormones called adrenaline and noradrenaline, whose production is controlled by the brain and nervous system, are produced and secreted from the core region. These hormones usually begin to be secreted with triggers such as physical activity, stress, emotional changes, and cause an increase in blood pressure and pulse. From the cortex region, sex hormones, which are corticosteroid hormones, cortisol, which provides resistance against psychological and biological stress, and water and electrolyte balance in the body. The hormone aldosterone is secreted, which regulates blood pressure.
Adrenal glands are different organs that do not have any connection with the kidney, except for the region where they are located. Benign or malignant tumors may occur in the kidney or adrenal glands. Their malignancy and tendency to spread cause diseases called kidney cancer or adrenal gland cancer. Kidney cancers can originate from two different regions, the part of the kidney where urine is produced (parenchyma) and cancers originating from the pool where urine is collected (collecting system).
What are the Symptoms of Kidney and Adrenal Gland Cancers?
Kidney cancer and adrenal gland cancer present with different symptoms. Symptoms in kidney cancer are usually quite mild, patients may not feel any symptoms until the disease reaches advanced stages. This delays the diagnosis and complicates the treatment. Symptoms include:
- Blood in the urine (hematuria)
- Persistent low back pain
- High fever unrelated to infection
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Constant tiredness
- Existence of a mass in the abdomen
- Swelling in the feet and legs
- Deterioration in general condition Cancers in the adrenal glands usually cause more pronounced symptoms as they affect hormone production. Symptoms usually occur due to conditions such as hyperaldosteronism, hyperandrogenism, which develops due to the increase in hormone production due to the tumor. However, in the absence of significant disorders in the levels of secreted hormones, the disease may give some symptoms. Common symptoms seen in adrenal gland cancers are as follows:
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain
- Muscle weakness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Cracked skin
- Problems such as hair growth (hirsutism), hair loss and menstrual irregularity in women
- Problems such as shrinkage of testicles and enlargement of breast tissues in men
- Bone loss
- Imbalances in blood sugar and diabetes (diabetes) disease
What are the Causes of Kidney and Adrenal Gland Cancers?
The factors that play a role in the development of kidney and adrenal cancer have not been fully determined yet. However, there are some factors that increase the likelihood of developing these cancers and can be considered as risk factors. The most important of these are genetic factors, obesity, smoking habit, unconscious and frequent use of painkillers, exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium and lead. Cancer cases occur as a result of changes (mutations) in the DNA of cells in the kidneys and adrenal glands.
As a result of mutations, uncontrolled proliferation occurs in cells. While the tumor, which is formed by the accumulation of abnormal cells, causes cancer, the cells that make up the tumor can break down and spread (metastasize) to other tissues and organs of the body. Chronic kidney failure is an important risk factor for kidney cancers. Renal parenchymal cancers constitute approximately 3% of cancer cases in adults and are more common in men than in women. Adrenal gland cancers, on the other hand, is a health problem encountered more frequently in women than in men.
How to Diagnose Kidney and Adrenal Gland Cancers?
Only 10% of kidney cancer cases Since symptoms such as visible bleeding in the urine, low back pain and palpable masses can be seen in 15% of them, most cancer cases are detected incidentally during imaging performed for different reasons. Again, it is seen that a small number of patients apply to health institutions with complaints that develop as a result of kidney cancer reaching advanced stages and metastasizing to different tissues. All these symptoms can be considered as factors that help the diagnosis.
As for adrenal gland cancers, the diagnosis is relatively easier, since the symptoms are more likely to cause symptoms and the symptoms associated with hormone elevation are clearer. In both types of cancer, definitive diagnosis is made by ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other medical imaging techniques. can be established as a result of examining its effects. However, in addition to this, applications such as physical examination, blood and urine tests also have an important place in diagnosis.
In patients with suspicious lesions in imaging studies, biopsy is usually applied. With this method, a sample is taken from the tumor with the help of a needle and sent to the pathology laboratory for examination. As a result of the examination, the tumor is diagnosed as benign (benign) or malignant (malignant). Malignant tumors indicate cancer and further examinations may be requested, then the treatment process is planned and started as soon as possible.
How to Treat Kidney and Adrenal Gland Cancers?
Diagnosed at an early stage Surgical removal of the tumor is one of the most common treatment methods in adrenal gland cancers that have not metastasized to any tissue or organ. However, preoperative follow-up may be recommended by administering drug treatments to the patients for a certain period of time. In kidney cancers:
1. In stage 2, the tumor has a size of less than 7 cm and its borders are inside the kidney. Although the size of the tumor was over 7 cm in the first stage, there was no spread to organs other than the kidney.3. In stage 1, the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues and lymph nodes. (He has metastasized.)4. In stage 1, the cancer has spread to distant organs such as bones, lungs and liver, along with lymph nodes. In this operation, the kidney and all surrounding tissues are removed. However, in small tumors located in only one part of the kidney or in people with a single kidney, partial removal, called partial nephrectomy, can be performed instead of removing the entire kidney.
If the cancer has spread to the lungs or great vessels, it may be necessary to intervene in these areas as well. It is important that the decision on this issue is the joint decision of the physician, the patient and the patient's relatives, since not every body can handle the kidney tumor surgery, which is a major surgery. Chemotherapy, which is another treatment option, is the administration of cancer drugs orally or intravenously to the patient. New chemotherapeutic drugs produced with developing medical technology Significant improvement in kidney tumors can be achieved with In radiotherapy (radiation therapy), which is another preferred method in cancer treatment, it is aimed to kill cancer cells with radiation beams.
Radiotherapy can be applied as an additional treatment in addition to surgical operations or as the main treatment in patients whose general condition cannot afford surgical treatments. Radiotherapy can also be used in the treatment of complaints such as bleeding and pain due to metastases in advanced cancers. Kidney and adrenal gland tumors are cancers with a high chance of cure when diagnosed early. If you think you are experiencing symptoms related to kidney and adrenal gland cancers, you can immediately apply to a health institution and undergo detailed examinations.
You can take precautions to live a life.
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