CancerCompass message board discussion started by Nebraska on 9/21/2006 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,6967,0.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Can anyone answer a few questions i have,please this is all kinda new to me. Can renal cell carcornoma travel to the brain? if so what is the best treatment? how do brain tumors actually start? What is the survile rate? Thanks, Lou Nebraska Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT Q & A ---------- Q: You asked, "Can renal cell carcinoma travel to the brain?" A: it spreads to: local lymph nodes and inferior vena cava, lungs, bones, skin, liver and brain. Q: You asked, "How do brain tumors start?" A: a cancer cell breaks off from the tumor in the kidney and travels via the blood stream to the brain where it implants and begins to divide. note: the cells that this brain tumor came from are renal-cell-cancer cells, not brain cells. the treatment of this cancer is therefore different than the treatment for a primary brain cancer such as a glioblastoma. Q: You asked, "What is the survival rate?" A: when kidney cancer spreads to the brain, that is classified as stage IV. cancers are staged from I (no spread) to IV (spread to a distant organ). stage IV kidney cancer has a 5-year survival of 20%. General Information About Renal Cell Cancer: ---------- Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents about 2-3% of all human malignancies. There are approximately 30,000 new cases of renal cancer diagnosed per year, resulting in approximately 12,000 deaths. Men are more commonly affected than women in a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio. Metastatic disease at presentation varies with the patient population but typically occurs in 23-33%. The most common sites of distant metastases in descending order are the lung, bone, skin, liver, and brain. What causes the renal cells to become cancerous is not known. A history of smoking greatly increases the risk for developing renal cell carcinoma. Approximately 33% of cases present in Stage I, 10% in Stage II, 25% in Stage III, and 33% in Stage IV. Median 5-year survival rates are 73% for Stage I, 68% for Stage II, 51% for Stage III, and 20% for Stage IV. References: ---------- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renal_cell_carcinoma. http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=8284 My thoughts: ---------- I know that most of the above is not what you would have hoped to for. But you asked the questions. Oncologists generally have a guide they use. If no one in the family including the patient asks about survival, don't rush to bring it up. When people are ready to know those answers, they will ask the questions. On one hand it is nice to know the facts so you can prepare for what may be in the future. On the other hand, ignorance is bliss. I visited Nebraska once. I remember how flat the land was. I remember cornfields everywhere. I remember everyone said "pop" instead of "soda." I remember every other sentence was "Go Big Red." To this day I have no idea what that means. I think it is a football reference. I need some chocolate now. I am so sorry you had to come to this message board. Please be strong and don't forget to take care of yourself while you are taking care of your husband. also, I think I answered another question of yours about your husband over on the brain cancer sub-forum. -Amnia Amnia Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT Thank you so much i just needed to know straight out and up front about all the questions. Thanks again so much and yes i'm trying to be strong but its really hard i try not to cry in front of him cuz i know he's hurting too and confused just like me and everyone else arround us. Thanks lou Nebraska Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT Amnia's answer is good. If there is just one or a very small number of brain tumors from RCC the best treatment is brain surgery (if possible, depending on the location of the tumor) or stereotactic radiosurgery. Whole brain radiation is not curative and can cause serious long term side efffects. Trishpm Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT The dr's are giving him whole brain radiation treatments right now (15 treatments)they said he needed this treatment first to try and srink the tumor that was 4.0 in order to have any brain surgery. The dr's are going to then put him on sutent, they said that il-2 is not an option anymore!! Why is that???? My question is if the tumor isn't shrinking what would be our next option ??? Thanks, Lou Nebraska Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT Dear Lou, Brain mets from RCC are a grave problem, but can be treated successfully, depending on the size, number, location, etc. Whole brain radiation will improve symptoms but is not usually curative for RCC brain mets. It can lead to very severe long term (6 months or later) neurologic side effects, but sometimes needs to be done if symptoms are severe. IL-2 is not an option for people with brain tumors because they usually need steroid treatment to reduce brain swelling, and the steroids and IL-2 cannot be administered together. IL-2 can be used after the brain tumor is treated, and the patient is still well enough for the IL-2 treatment. I suggest you join KIDNEY-ONC, an email support list specific to kidney cancer. You can get answers there from people who have been in your father's position. See http://cancerguide.org/kofaq/. Please be sure that your father is being treated by a doctor who has experience in treating patients with metastatic RCC. Call the Kidney Cancer Association at 800-850-9132 to find a doc near your father. Trishpm Sat, 07 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT Trish, I know the size and number but not the location know one has really explained that. I just know that the larger mass is on the right top of the head and the other 5 are on the left in different areas. My husbands last treatment is 10-10-06 then we wait 2 weeks, take a mri and go from there???? Q...the radiation ongo. What to do chemo, is that the "right" next step to take?????? Thanks, Lou Nebraska Sun, 08 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT