Kidneys

Kidney cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the kidney tissue. The most common type of kidney cancer is clear cell renal (conventional) carcinoma. For a long time, it was considered difficult to treat with radiation due to the risk of damage to surrounding organs, especially the intestines, liver, or pancreas. However, thanks to technological advances and new clinical data, this view has changed fundamentally. Proton radiation therapy now offers a gentle and effective treatment option even for patients who previously did not have such an alternative.

How is kidney cancer treated?

The basic treatment is usually surgery, either partial or complete removal of the affected kidney. With smaller tumours, it is often possible to preserve the healthy part of the kidney. However, if surgery is not possible, for example due to the patient’s health condition, non-surgical treatment may be an alternative.

Who is most likely to develop the disease?

Kidney tumors are more common in men, most often after the age of 50. In the early stages, they usually cause no symptoms and are often discovered by chance, for example during an ultrasound or CT scan performed for another reason. Later, problems such as blood in the urine, back pain, or fatigue caused by anemia may appear. However, these are usually signs of advanced disease. That is why it is important not to underestimate preventive urological examinations, especially in middle-aged and older men. During these examinations, it is possible to detect the tumor in time using an ultrasound scan.

What do clinical data say?

The decision to include kidney cancer among the diagnoses suitable for proton therapy is based on the results of international studies. For example, the Australian FASTRACK II study demonstrated 100% disease control in the first year of radiation therapy and only minimal side effects. Even smaller Japanese studies using protons show high efficacy and low toxicity.

Why choose proton therapy?

In kidney tumours, it is crucial to spare the surrounding healthy structures and preserve kidney function as much as possible. Proton therapy often makes this possible thanks to its physical properties. We can precisely target the radiation and thus limit the dose to surrounding organs such as the intestinal loops, ureter, renal pelvis, and other important tissues in the abdominal cavity.

Proton therapy may be suitable:

• for patients who are not suitable for surgery due to associated internal diseases,
• for patients with findings that are difficult to treat surgically,
• as an alternative to surgery for patients who refuse surgery,
• for tumours in a solitary kidney (i.e., in patients with only one kidney) with a risk of developing or worsening renal insufficiency after surgery,
• for tumours in both kidneys with a risk of developing or worsening renal insufficiency after surgery.