Kidney Cancer Dictionary

angiomyolipoma: Benign, non-cancerous kidney tumors containing smooth muscle. Often treated by nephrectomy.

arterial embolization: In this procedure, a radiologist injects a special material into the main blood vessel leading to the kidney. By clogging this vessel, the tumor is deprived of oxygen and other nutrients. Arterial embolization may be used before an operation or to relieve pain and bleeding when an operation isn't possible. Side effects may include temporary nausea, vomiting or pain.

arteriography: Veins and arteries are normally not visible in an X-ray, so arteriography, like IVP, uses dye to highlight these features on an X-ray. The dye in the arteriography is injected locally using a catheter, allowing a greater concentration of dye and a high-resolution image. This is also known as a renal angiogram.

birt hogg dube syndrome: Another disorder associated with kidney cancer that is characterized by the presence of multiple small bumps (nodules) on the skin covering the nose, cheeks, forehead, ears, and neck.

chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma is a malignant distinct subtype of renal cell carcinoma and comprises approximately five percent of neoplasms of the renal tubular epithelium.

clear cell (conventional) renal cell carcinoma: This is the most common form of kidney cancer and represents between 66 percent and 75 percent of all cases. Clear cell RCC is the cell type associated with the von Hippel Lindau (VHL) gene mutation in hereditary kidney cancer. When the tumor has not spread, prognosis is very good following surgical excision.

collecting duct carcinoma: This is a rare and very aggressive variant of kidney cancer that represents less than one percent of all cases. This form of RCC is usually metastatic at the time of diagnosis, and is more common in younger individuals. Treatment has been directed at using chemotherapy-based regimens, similar to those used in the treatment of transitional cell carcinoma (see below), as these tumors do not respond to traditional RCC therapies such as bioimmunotherapy.

cryoablation: Treatment to freeze cancer cells. During cryoablation, one or more special needles (cryoprobes) are inserted through small incisions in the skin and into the tumor. Gas in the needles creates extreme cold that causes the cells around the point of each needle to freeze.

dialysis: In hemodialysis, the patient's blood is pumped through the blood compartment of a dialyzer, exposing it to a semipermeable membrane. Dialysis solution is pumped through the dialysate compartment of the dialyzer, which is configured so that the blood and dialysis solutions flow on opposite sides of the semipermeable membrane. The cleansed blood is then returned via the circuit back to the body. People who receive long-term dialysis to treat chronic renal failure are at greater risk of developing kidney cancer, possibly because renal failure depresses the immune system.