Usually there are no signs or symptoms during the early stages of kidney cancer. Later, possible symptoms include:
- Blood in the urine
- Low back pain on one side (not caused by injury)
- A lump on the side, abdomen or lower back
- Loss of appetite
- Extreme Fatigue (tiredness)
- Weight loss not caused by dieting
- Fever that is not caused by an infection and that doesn’t go away
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
- Swelling in your ankles or legs
Often these symptoms are caused by other conditions. For example, blood in the urine is more commonly caused by a urinary tract (bladder) infection or a kidney stone. Individuals with these symptoms should contact their primary care physician, who may refer them to a specialist for further evaluation.
Risk factors
- Age. Your risk of kidney cancer increases as you age.
- Smoking
- Obesity
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Treatment for kidney failure. People who receive long-term dialysis to treat chronic kidney failure have a greater risk of developing kidney cancer.
- Certain inherited syndromes, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma or familial renal cancer
- Family history of kidney cancer
- Exposure to certain substances in the workplace, such as cadmium or specific herbicides
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