Every year, Vietnam has about 2,000 people with kidney cancer.

Experts call kidney cancer a silent trap because in the early stages there are no obvious symptoms, when symptoms appear it is already in the advanced stage, metastasis. Smoking increases the risk of kidney cancer by 50%.

According to Globocan (International Agency for Research on Cancer), each year the world records over 430,000 new cases of kidney cancer, of which Vietnam accounts for about 1,700 - 2,000 cases. The incidence of the disease is on the rise globally, especially in developing countries like Vietnam. The detection of more and more kidney cancer cases is thanks to advances in diagnostic imaging. However, it also reflects the increase in obesity, smoking and environmental pollution.

Resident Doctor Cao Minh Phuc - Department of Urology Surgery, Bach Mai Hospital said that among kidney cancers, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 90% of kidney cancer cases. RCC has the characteristic of "silent" progression, easily metastasizes through the blood and often does not cause early symptoms.

Many people with kidney failure have to undergo dialysis.

Dr. Phuc said that kidney cancer is often called a “silent trap” because in the early stages, the disease has few obvious symptoms. Most cases are discovered by chance through abdominal ultrasound or CT scan during examination for other reasons. When symptoms appear, the disease is often advanced, although only occurs in less than 10% of patients, including: painless gross hematuria, dull pain in the flank and back, and palpable mass in the lower rib area.

To avoid falling into this "silent trap", Dr. Phuc recommends that everyone should go to the doctor if they have one of the following signs: Blood in the urine - even if only once and painless; dull, persistent back pain on one side of the body for an unknown reason; weight loss, fatigue, persistent low-grade fever, unexplained anemia.

In particular, people over 50 years old, smokers, have high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney cancer should have regular ultrasounds every 6 - 12 months.

Currently, about 30-40% of kidney cancer patients are diagnosed at the metastatic stage - an alarming reality. To improve this situation, Dr. Cao Minh Phuc recommends strengthening communication and public health education ; encouraging regular health check-ups - simple abdominal ultrasound can detect early; training primary doctors to improve their skills in suspicion and early diagnosis and applying AI technology - big data in screening and monitoring risks.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/moi-nam-viet-nam-co-khoang-2-000-nguoi-mac-ung-thu-than-i776431/