Can kidney cancer be prevented?
While it's not always possible to prevent kidney cancer, you can reduce your risk by making lifestyle changes, managing existing health conditions, and being aware of potential risk factors.6 Some preventive measures include not smoking or quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and controlling high blood pressure.
What are the treatment options for kidney cancer?
Treatment for kidney cancer depends on the stage and grade of the tumor, as well as the patient's age and overall health. Options may include surgery (the primary treatment for most stages), ablation techniques, radiation therapy, targeted drug therapy, immunotherapy, and in some cases, chemotherapy.
How is kidney cancer diagnosed?
Kidney cancer is typically diagnosed through a combination of blood and urine tests, imaging tests such as ultrasound, CT, or MRI, and sometimes a biopsy. Blood tests may check for red blood cell counts, while urine tests look for substances like blood or cancer cells. Imaging tests help determine the location and size of the cancer.
What are the main risk factors for kidney cancer?
Key risk factors for kidney cancer include smoking, being overweight or obese, high blood pressure, being male, having advanced kidney disease, family history of kidney cancer, and certain rare genetic diseases.
What are the common symptoms of kidney cancer?
The most common symptoms of kidney cancer include blood in the urine (hematuria), a lump or mass in the kidney area, flank pain, and tiredness.
How can liver cancer be prevented?
Many liver cancers could be prevented by reducing exposure to known risk factors. Key prevention strategies include avoiding hepatitis B and C infections through vaccination and safer practices, treating chronic hepatitis B and C infections, limiting alcohol consumption, and not smoking. Additionally, maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of liver cancer.
How is liver cancer diagnosed?
Liver cancer diagnosis typically begins with a comprehensive physical exam and discussion of symptoms and medical history. Diagnostic procedures may include alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) testing, which is a tumor marker, and various imaging tests such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and angiography. In some cases, a liver biopsy may be performed for a definitive diagnosis.
What are the symptoms of liver cancer?
Common symptoms of liver cancer include weakness and tiredness, pain in the abdomen, swelling of the abdomen due to fluid buildup (ascites), pain in the right shoulder, appetite loss, feeling sick, weight loss, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), pale bowel motions, and fever.
What are the risk factors for liver cancer?
The biggest known risk factor for primary liver cancer in Australia is chronic infection with hepatitis B or C viruses. Other risk factors include fatty liver disease, genetic disorders like haemochromatosis, type 2 diabetes, alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking tobacco, and exposure to certain chemicals.
What are the main types of liver cancer?
There are two broad categories of liver cancer: primary and secondary. Primary liver cancer originates in the liver, while secondary liver cancer spreads from other parts of the body. The most common type of primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also known as hepatoma.
