For women with kidney cancer, belly fat matters

Washington University: Belly fat affects the odds of women surviving kidney cancer but not men, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Half of female kidney cancer patients with substantial abdominal fat at the time of diagnosis died within 3 1/2 years, while more than half of women with little belly fat were still alive 10 years later, the researchers found. For men, the amount of abdominal fat appeared to make no difference in how long they survived.

Kidney cancer detected early with urine test

Washington: If kidney cancer is diagnosed early — before it spreads — 80 percent of patients survive. However, finding it early has been among the disease’s greatest challenges.
Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive method to screen for kidney cancer that involves measuring the presence of proteins in the urine.
The findings are reported March 19 in the journal JAMA Oncology.

Rare African bush may help kidney cancer treatment

University of Leeds research has shown why a bush that is only found in some African countries could hold a key to killing renal (kidney) cancer cells. Phyllanthus engleri, also known as spurred phyllanthus, is only found in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Previous studies have shown that the plant contains a chemical, Englerin A, which kills renal cancer cells – but they have not shown why.

Penn Medicine Physician Finds No Preventive Benefits for Widely Used Kidney Cancer Drugs

Pennsylvania University. US: Results of Phase III Clinical Study of Advanced Kidney Cancer Patients after Surgery Revealed No Survival Benefit for Sunitinib, Sorafenib.

Smoking Associated with Elevated Risk of Developing a Second Smoking-Related Cancer

ASCO. US: An analysis of five large, prospective cohort studies indicates that lung (stage I), bladder, kidney and head and neck cancer survivors who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day prior to their cancer diagnoses have an up to five-fold higher risk of developing a second smoking-associated cancer compared to survivors of the same cancers who never smoked.

Kidney cancer

Author: Dr Brent Yanke Urologist West Orange New Jersey 2008-07-28

The kidneys (or renal units) are organs responsible for cleansing the blood of waste.  Many byproducts of the metabolic processes in the body build up in the blood stream.  A microscopic tubular system within the kidney filters the blood and removes these byproducts before they can accumulate to dangerous levels.  Kidney tissue is separated into two layers, the outer cortex and the inner medulla.  Once the filtered waste passes through these layers, it collects in the renal pelvis which is an open space in the core of the kidney.  The urine then drains from the renal pelvis into the ureter and finally into the bladder. Surrounding the kidney are several protective layers.  A thin capsule encircles the renal cortex and comprises the outer surface of the kidney.  The kidney sits in a pocket of fat that is itself contained in another layer of tissue called Gerota’s fascia.

A renal tumor is an atypical growth of cells that can arise from different segments of the kidney.  Benign renal tumors are non-cancerous and rarely threatening to the patient while a malignant renal tumor, also known as renal cancer, has a more aggressive nature.  In 2007, there were an estimated 51,190 new cases of kidney cancer and 12,890 deaths due to kidney cancer in the United States.¹ This represents 2% of all diagnosed cancers.²