Prognosis and Prevention of Renal Cell Carcinoma
The prognosis of a person depends on the stages of the cancer and the individual’s response to the treatment.
In one third of patients diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, the cancer would have spread to other body parts (metastasized) such as the lungs and other organs. In many cases both the kidneys are involved.
The survival rate is at its best when the disease is at its early stages and is confined only to the kidneys. If the disease has spread to other organs such as the lymph nodes and the lungs, the chances of survival are quite dismal. Risks are higher in those who are older or in those who need secondary surgical procedures.
Stage I renal cell carcinoma, after radical nephrectomy, has a 94% 5-year survival rate. Those with stage II lesions have a survival rate of 79% while the rate for those in stage IV is very low, between 0-20%.
One of the best ways to prevent renal cell carcinoma is to avoid its causative factors, such as smoking or obesity. It is also important to monitor patients with kidney diseases, those who have undergone transplant and those who are undergoing dialysis to detect the cancer at the earliest, should it arise.
