What Are the Treatments for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma?
Overview Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) account for approximately 3% of all cancers diagnosed. It develops around the fifth to sixth decade of life and affects twice as many men than women. If caught early (stage I), survival rates are excellent at 90 to 95 percent. Sadly, 25 to 30 percent of patients are diagnosed at stage IV, which involves an arduous treatment plan and relatively low survival rate. Surgery At an early stage, a partial nephrectomy (removal of part of the kidney) may be performed, however, at the metastatic level (stage IV), a radical nephrectomy is more likely. In a radical rephrectomy, the kidney, adrenal gland, surrounding tissues and some lymph nodes will be excised. In addition, other surgeries may be indicated depending on sites of metastasis, tumor involvement and feasibility. In the case of metastatic cancer, surgery is the first step. Follow-up therapies are almost always indicated.
