Not just a man's disease: Why women need to be aware of kidney cancer too!
Kidney cancer is more commonly seen in males than females. If we were to believe data, the incidence of kidney cancer is twice in men as in women, but that doesn't mean females will not have the disease.
In fact, in females, it is often diagnosed at later stages because it is commonly mistaken for hematuria (blood in urine) and frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are quite common among women. This confusion often leads to delayed diagnosis of kidney cancer in most women.
Men are more prone to kidney cancer due to factors like higher androgen levels, smoking, and poor lifestyle habits. However, stage-for-stage, the prognosis remains similar for both men and women.
In women, certain hormones are related to benign kidney tumors like angiomyolipomas, which may be associated with pregnancy or the use of oral contraceptive pills. Though non-cancerous, their presence indicates how hormonal factors can influence renal health, especially in women.
Interestingly, women are sometimes found to have more favorable tumor biology, either due to genetics or unknown causes. But when aggressive types develop in females, the outcomes can be equally difficult.
Although the majority of the time symptoms occur at a very late stage, it is important to watch out for unusual symptoms like hematuria, flank pain, or an abdominal mass. In many instances, kidney cancer is discovered incidentally, mainly during a routine ultrasound for unrelated abdominal discomfort.
Women above the age of 40 should undergo annual abdominal ultrasounds to catch potential issues early. When detected in the early stages, surgery is often curative, without the need for other measures like chemotherapy or radiation, unlike most cancers, where multiple treatment modalities are almost always involved. Even part of the kidney can also be preserved through the partial nephrectomy procedure. Therefore, awareness and timely screening remain important to treat kidney cancers, although it is less commonly observed in women.
Authored by: Dr. Rajashekar C Jaka, Consultant - Surgical Oncology & Robotic Surgery, Manipal Hospital Whitefield, Jayanagar and Malleshwaram.
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