Kidney cancer: symptoms, causes and which doctor to see

For kidney cancer you can first see: Urology or Medical Oncology. In large hospitals, the Urology and Medical Oncology unit also deals with this. If you are not sure, a family doctor (general practitioner) can assess you first and refer you to the right specialist.

Common symptoms: painless blood in the urine; pain or a lump in the flank; unexplained weight loss, fever; anaemia or high blood calcium; a newly appeared varicocele in a man. Symptoms vary from person to person; a doctor’s examination is needed for a diagnosis.

The most common causes: smoking; obesity; high blood pressure; long-term dialysis; inherited syndromes (von Hippel-Lindau). Only a doctor’s examination can determine the exact cause.

For small tumours, only the part of the kidney with the tumour can be removed; for larger ones, the whole kidney is removed. At an advanced stage, targeted medicines and immunotherapy are used.

It is more common in: men over 60; smokers; overweight people and people with high blood pressure.

It is diagnosed with contrast CT or MRI; a biopsy is done if needed.

Stopping smoking, a healthy weight and blood pressure control.

At an early stage it is usually symptomless; it is found by chance.

No; some masses are benign (angiomyolipoma, oncocytoma). They are told apart with imaging and, if needed, a biopsy.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, call 112 without delay: “Is there a lot of blood and clots in the urine, with inability to pass urine?” “Is there confusion, fainting or difficulty waking up?” “Is there facial drooping, slurred speech or sudden weakness in an arm or leg?” “Are you struggling to breathe even at rest?”

See a doctor: if you see blood in your urine; if a mass has been found in a kidney on imaging.