The key difference between renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer is that renal cell carcinoma develops in the lining of the kidney tubules while kidney cancer develops in the lining of the kidney tubules, renal pelvis, soft tissue in the kidneys, and lymph nodes of the kidneys.
Cancer is a disease in which some of the cells in the body grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Cancer can start anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells. Renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer are two associated conditions. This is because renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. Renal cell carcinoma accounts for 85% of kidney cancer cases.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Renal Cell Carcinoma
3. What is Kidney Cancer
4. Similarities – Renal Cell Carcinoma and Kidney Cancer
5. Renal Papilla vs. Renal Pelvis in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Renal Cell Carcinoma and Kidney Cancer
7. Summary – Renal Cell Carcinoma vs. Kidney Cancer
What is Renal Cell Carcinoma?
Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. It makes up about 85% of diagnoses of kidney cancers. This type of cancer develops in the proximal renal tubules that make up the filtration system of the kidney. The risk factors for this condition may include smoking, being overweight, taking a lot of pain medications, having hepatitis C, exposure to certain dyes, asbestos, cadmium, herbicides, and solvents, having acquired cystic kidney disease and some inherited conditions, especially von Hippel-Lindau disease. The symptoms of this condition are a lump on the side, belly or lower back, blood in the urine, lower back pain on one side, losing weight for no clear reason, fever, feeling tired, anaemia, night sweats, high level of calcium in the blood and high blood pressure.
Figure 01: Renal Cell Carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma can be diagnosed through urine tests, blood tests, biopsy, liver function tests, ultrasound, CT scans, and nephrectomy. Furthermore, treatment options for renal cell carcinoma may include surgery, biologic drugs, drugs such as interferons, and targeted therapy.
What is Kidney Cancer?
Kidney cancer is a cancer that develops in the cells of the kidney. The most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which accounts for about 90% of all cases. The symptoms of kidney cancer are blood in the urine, pain in the back or side that does not go away, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss and tiredness, and fever. The risk factors for kidney cancer are older age, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, treatment for kidney failure, certain inherited syndromes (von Hippel-Lindau disease, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma or familial renal cancer), and family history of kidney cancer.
Figure 02: Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancer can be diagnosed through blood tests, urine tests, ultrasounds, X-rays, CT scans, MRI, and biopsy. Furthermore, treatment options for kidney cancer may include nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy.
What are the Similarities Between Renal Cell Carcinoma and Kidney Cancer?
- Renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer are two associated conditions.
- In fact, renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer.
- Both conditions are diagnosed through imaging tests.
- They can be treated through respective therapies and surgeries.
What is the Difference Between Renal Cell Carcinoma and Kidney Cancer?
Renal cell carcinoma develops in the lining of the kidney tubules while kidney cancer develops in the lining of the kidney tubules, renal pelvis, soft tissue in the kidneys, and lymph nodes of the kidneys. Thus, this is the key difference between renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer. Furthermore, the risk factors for renal cell carcinoma may include smoking, being overweight, taking a lot of pain medications, having hepatitis C, exposure to certain dyes, asbestos, cadmium, herbicides, and solvents, having acquired cystic kidney disease and some inherited conditions such as especially von Hippel-Lindau disease. On the other hand, the risk factors for kidney cancer are older age, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, treatment for kidney failure, certain inherited syndromes (von Hippel-Lindau disease, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma or familial renal cancer), and family history of kidney cancer.
The infographic below presents the differences between renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
FAQ: Renal Cell Carcinoma and Kidney Cancer
What is the most aggressive type of kidney cancer?
Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma are considered the most aggressive forms of kidney cancers.
Can renal cell carcinoma be cured?
Renal cell carcinoma can be cured if it is localized to the kidney and the immediately surrounding tissue. The probability of curing depends on the stage or degree of tumor dissemination
What are the 4 stages of renal cell carcinoma?
T1, T2, T3, and T4 are the four stages of renal carcinoma.
Summary – Renal Cell Carcinoma vs. Kidney Cancer
Renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer are two associated conditions because renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer, making up about 85% of diagnoses of kidney cancers. However, renal cell carcinoma develops in the lining of the kidney tubules while kidney cancer develops in the lining of the kidney tubules, renal pelvis, soft tissue in the kidneys, and lymph nodes of the kidneys. Hence, this summarizes the difference between renal cell carcinoma and kidney cancer.
Reference:
1. “Renal Cell Cancer.” Statpearls – NCBI Bookshelf.
2. “Kidney Cancer.” NHS Choices, NHS.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Clear cell renal cell carcinoma intermed mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Kidney Cancer” By BruceBlaus – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia