Kidney Cancer

Cancer patients whose treatment involves IV infusions of the immunotherapy nivolumab (brand name Opdivo) may soon be able to receive the drug via a simple injection given in their physician’s clinic.

Blood in the urine can signify a number of health problems. While most of these are minor concerns, it’s important to get a definitive diagnosis quickly.

Every year in the United States more than half a million people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone related pain and suffering.
Dan is quick to credit his incredible recovery to his care team. “All I know is that, if not for Roswell Park, I would not be alive today. I have no doubt in my mind. I’m very fortunate that things worked out the way they did.”
As a result of having VHL, Sheana has had many surgeries. At age 12 she had a hemangioblastoma removed from her brain. At age 15, a tumor was removed from her spine. At age 17, another from her brain. She also has had tumors behind her eyes.

Abdominal and back pain, blood in the urine, vomiting or fever – all could be signs of serious kidney issues. However, it's unlikely that any of these ailments is a symptom of kidney cancer.

A sudden or unusual ache in the middle or lower portion of the back might have a person looking up all kinds of possible medical ailments online.
As with many other types of cancer, several factors determine how fast kidney cancer can spread. Your age, overall health and the type of kidney cancer all play a role in whether the disease is fast- or slow-growing.

After a kidney cancer diagnosis, one of the first questions your physician will seek to answer in developing your treatment plan will be whether your cancer can be treated with surgery — the standard, primary treatment for many patients. And if so, can you still keep your kidney?

Results from the CheckMate 214 clinical trial show that combined therapy with two immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab and ipilimumab, can be very effective in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.

Ten years ago, patients diagnosed with advanced-stage kidney cancer had few options, and none of them were very promising. But in recent years, we have seen a revolution in kidney cancer treatment with ten new targeted drugs winning FDA approval.

Six years after treatment for kidney cancer, Robert Kayser reflects on the good fortune that led to his surprise diagnosis, successful surgery, and a healthy retirement filled with bicycling, artisan bread baking and traveling in coastal Alabama.