Kidney cancer facts for kids

Kidney cancer is a serious illness that starts in the kidneys. Kidneys are two bean-shaped organs in your body. They help clean your blood and make urine. When cells in the kidney grow out of control, they can form a lump called a tumor. This tumor can be cancerous.

Two main types of kidney cancer are Wilms tumor, which mostly affects children, and renal cell carcinoma, which is more common in adults.

What Do Kidneys Do?

Your body has two kidneys, one on each side of your spine, just below your rib cage. They are super important!

• Filter Blood: Kidneys work like a filter. They remove waste products and extra water from your blood.
• Make Urine: All the waste and extra water turn into urine, which then leaves your body.
• Keep Balance: They also help keep the right balance of salts and minerals in your body.
• Produce Hormones: Kidneys make hormones that help control blood pressure and make red blood cells.

What is Cancer?

Cancer happens when some cells in your body start to grow in a way they shouldn't. Normally, cells grow, divide, and die in an organized way. But with cancer, these cells grow out of control. They can form a mass called a tumor. These cancer cells can sometimes spread to other parts of the body.

Types of Kidney Cancer

There are different kinds of kidney cancer. The type depends on which cells in the kidney become cancerous.

• Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC): This is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. It usually starts in the lining of the tiny tubes inside the kidney.
• Wilms Tumor: This type of kidney cancer is almost always found in young children. It often starts in the kidney cells that are still developing.

How Doctors Find Kidney Cancer

Doctors use different ways to find out if someone has kidney cancer.

• Imaging Tests: They might use scans like an Ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI to take pictures of the kidneys. These pictures can show if there's a tumor.
• Biopsy: Sometimes, doctors need to take a tiny piece of the kidney tumor. This is called a biopsy. They look at this small piece under a microscope to see if it's cancer.

Treating Kidney Cancer

The way kidney cancer is treated depends on the type of cancer and how far it has grown.

• Surgery: For many kidney cancers, especially if they are found early, surgery is the main treatment.
  • Nephrectomy: This means removing the whole kidney that has the cancer. It's often done when the cancer is only in one kidney and hasn't spread.
  • Partial Nephrectomy: Sometimes, doctors can remove only the part of the kidney that has the cancer, leaving the healthy part behind. This is called a partial nephrectomy. It's an option for some patients, especially if the tumor is small.
• Other Treatments: For some types of kidney cancer, or if it has spread, doctors might also use other treatments. These can include medicines that target cancer cells (called targeted therapy) or treatments that use the body's immune system to fight cancer (called immunotherapy).

Images for kids

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  Micrograph of a kidney cancer (chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, oncocytic variant), that may be challenging to differentiate from a benign kidney tumour (renal oncocytoma). H&E stain.

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  Micrograph of papillary renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. H&E stain.

See also

In Spanish: Cáncer de riñón para niños