Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about renal cell carcinoma. And you can find written notes as always on this topic

at zero definals.com slash renal cell carcinoma or in the urology section of the zero definals surgery book.

So let's get straight into it.

Renal cell carcinoma, which can be shortened to RCC, is the most common type of kidney

tumour. It's a type of adenocarsanoma that arises from the renal tubules. The classic triad

of presenting features is hematuria, or blood in the urine, flank pain and a palpable mass in the

kidney area. Let's talk about the types of renal cell carcinoma. There are several subtypes of renal cell adenocarsinoma,

and the three most common are clear cell, around 80%, papillary, around 15%,

and chromophobe around 5%.

A Wilms tumour is a specific type of tumour that affects the kidney

in children, typically under five years, and this is worth being aware of.

Next let's talk about the risk factors, and these are smoking, obesity, hypertension,

end-stage renal failure, von Hippel-Lindal disease and tuberous sclerosis.

Next let's talk about the presentation. Renal cell carcinoma may be asymptomatic, with no symptoms at all.

It may also present with hematuria, or blood in the urine,

vague loin pain,

nonspecific symptoms of cancer,

for example, weight loss, fatigue, anorexia and night sweats,

and a palpable renal mass on examination.

The nice guidelines on recognising cancer, which was last updated in

January 2021, advise a two-week weight referral for those patients who are aged over 45 with

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