If you have been diagnosed with kidney cancer, your treatment plan may include one or a combination of these methods:
Surgery Radical nephrectomy removes the entire kidney, surrounding tissue and the adrenal gland which rests immediately on top of the kidney, and drains the lymph nodes. In certain circumstances, depending upon the size and location of the tumor, a partial nephrectomy may obtained. As the term implies, only part of the kidney containing the tumor is removed with preservation of function of the remaining half to one-third of that kidney.
Arterial Embolization Arterial embolization is a type of local therapy that shrinks the tumor. Sometimes it is done before an operation to make surgery easier.
Radiation
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. However, renal cancer is one of those cancers that is relatively resistant to radiation therapy. Patients for whom surgery is not indicated may have radiation therapy to relieve pain and other problems caused by cancer.
Chemotherapy In chemotherapy, anticancer drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. Although useful for many other cancers, anticancer drugs have shown limited use against kidney cancer.
Biological Therapy or Targeted Therapy Because chemotherapy for kidney cancer does not work very well, doctors are looking at a newer approach called biologic therapy or targeted therapy. Some of these treatments boost the body's own defense system to help fight off or destroy cancer cells, and others interfere with mechanisms of survival upon which the cancer depends (for instance, adequate blood supply and appropriate signaling for continued growth). Because of recent advances in clinical trials, these therapies are being used much more commonly in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Investigations are being conducted to determine if their delivery prior to surgery or immediately after surgery might extend survival or actually provide a cure.