The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published new guidance on how to better diagnose and treat kidney cancer given that cases are on the rise in the UK.
Kidney cancer now makes up for one in 25 new cancer diagnoses in Britain and affects 14,000 people each year.
Cases have increased by about 25 percent over the last decade, while men make up 63 percent of cases.
While the exact reason behind the rise in cases is unknown, being a male, over the age of 75, a smoker and overweight are all risk factors that increase chances of developing it.
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"The kidneys are two small organs either side of your spine below your ribs. They remove waste and extra fluid from the blood, turning it into pee," the NHS explains.
"How serious kidney cancer is depends on where it is in the kidney, how big it is, if it has spread and your general health."
Symptoms of kidney cancer
· blood in pee
· lump or swelling in back, under ribs, or in neck
· pain between ribs and waist that does not go away
· loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
· feeling tired or having no energy
· a high temperature that does not go away
· sweating a lot, including at night
New national kidney cancer guideline
A new national guideline aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer has been developed under Grant Stewart, who co-directs the Urological Malignancies Virtual Institute at the University of Cambridge.
The guidance, published by NICE, aims to standardise the way kidney cancer is managed across the NHS and ensure patients receive the most effective care.
NICE's paper focuses on renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, and provides recommendations for every stage of care, from diagnosis, scans and biopsies to monitoring, surgery and drug treatments for patients.
One of the most important changes is the recommendation that more patients with suspected kidney cancer should receive a biopsy.
A biopsy involves inserting a needle through the skin into a kidney tumour during a CT or ultrasound scan to collect a small sample of cells.
Stewart, who is also Consultant Urological Surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, said: “By offering more patients with a kidney lump a biopsy, clinicians can tell patients if the lesion is cancer or benign and if they need to consider a treatment like surgery, or if they can avoid these treatments which do have some risks associated with them.
“In Cambridge, we have developed a one-stop biopsy clinic for kidney cancer, so we can biopsy more patients while reducing the time patients wait between presentation and diagnosis to half the time for the traditional multi-appointment route.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Anish Vij