Kidney cancer detected after two months of loss of appetite and weight loss.

Ho Chi Minh City – A 54-year-old man who had been experiencing loss of appetite and weight loss for two months was diagnosed with kidney cancer after a medical examination. Doctors at Cho Ray Hospital performed laparoscopic surgery to remove the kidney and tumor.

On June 25th, Associate Professor, Dr. Thai Minh Sam, Head of the Urology Department at Cho Ray Hospital, stated that the patient had a large 7 cm tumor in the right kidney. The tumor protruded into the renal vein and the inferior vena cava. The patient had several underlying conditions including hypertension, diabetes, and hepatitis B.

Kidney cancer accounts for 2-3% of all cancers. Naturally, kidney cancer can develop into nodular growths within the veins. Without treatment, the average survival time for patients is 5 months. When patients undergo nephrectomy and removal of nodular growths, the average 5-year survival rate is 64%, according to medical literature.

To date, Cho Ray Hospital has performed more than 50 surgeries for kidney tumors with venous polyps. All were performed open surgery to remove the polyps. This time, the doctors decided to perform nephrectomy and remove the polyps from the inferior vena cava using endoscopy. This is the first case in Vietnam to apply this technique.

The surgery lasted over 5 hours, with no complications recorded. Post-operatively, the patient recovered quickly, experienced little pain, and resumed normal activities sooner than with open surgery, being discharged after 5 days. The patient recently had a follow-up appointment three months prior and is in stable condition.

Doctors perform laparoscopic surgery on patients. Photo: Provided by the hospital. — Doctors perform laparoscopic surgery on patients. Photo: *Provided by the hospital.*

Dr. Chau Quy Thuan, Deputy Head of the Urology Department at Cho Ray Hospital, stated that radical nephrectomy and vena cava removal are among the most complex surgeries in the field of urology. Laparoscopic surgery, with its minimally invasive advantages, allows for faster post-operative recovery. However, this is a complex surgery requiring high technical skill and expertise from the surgical team.

In most cases, kidney cancer is asymptomatic. Blood in the urine, pain or a lump in the flank, weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, fever... are warning signs of kidney cancer. Smoking and obesity are risk factors for kidney cancer. Doctors recommend regular health checkups, especially kidney function tests, for early detection and treatment.

Le Phuong

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