Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer)

The 5 Stages of Renal Cell Carcinoma

An important prognostic predictor for any type of cancer is the clinicopathologic stage. A clinicopathologic stage describes the cancer developmental phase, and is established according to several criteria: (1) the tumor size, (2) the cancer location (if the cancer is present in one or both kidneys), and (3) the cancer extent.

Renal cell carcinoma has five stages:

Stage I: In this stage, the cancer is confined to the kidney, and the tumor measures around 7 centimeters.

Stage II: In this stage, the cancer has spread to the fat tissue around the kidney, and the tumor is larger than 7 centimeters.

Stage III: In this stage, there are three possible situations:

1. The cancer is confined to the kidney, but the cancerous cells enter the lymph system and invaded one adjacent lymph node.
2. The cancer has spread to the adrenal gland, fat tissue and fibrous tissue that encapsule the kidney, and the cancerous cell might be present in one lymph node.
3. The cancer has spread to the main blood vessel (renal vein) that carries clean blood from the kidneys or to the main blood vessel that carries blood from the lower parts of the body to the heart ( inferior vena cava).

Stage IV: In this stage, there are three possible situations:

1. The cancer has spread beyond the fibrous tissue that surrounds the kidney.
2. The cancerous cells are found in several nearby lymph nodes.
3. The cancer has spread to adjacent organs such as bowel, pancreas, or lungs.

Recurrent: In this stage, the cancer relapsed after it was treated.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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