By studying the genetic changes in kidney cancers, they found certain tumours are ‘born bad’, while others have a low risk of spreading and may not even require treatment.
‘Born to be bad’ tumours have extensive mutations and are likely to spread, while benign forms of the disease grow slowly and may require no intervention, a study found.
Scientists have discovered why somecancersare more deadly than others.
Intermediate tumours are expected to spread to just one other part of the body and respond to surgery, the research adds.
Sir Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said the ‘groundbreaking’ study could pave the way for personalised patient care.
The chance mutation in a gene remains hidden and harmless in the majority of the population. But in an unlucky few – one or two people out of 100 people – it combines with other genetic errors to set the kidney cancer time bomb ticking
WHAT IS KIDNEY CANCER?
Each year around 12,600 people in the UK are diagnosed with kidney cancer and around 63,000 in the US, according to figures.
It is one of the fastest growing cancers in terms of incidence, with rates increasing by 50 per cent in the past decade.
Risk factors for kidney cancer include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and a family history of the disease. Tell-tale symptoms include blood in the urine.
Most cases of kidney cancer don’t cause any symptoms in the early stages, according to the NHS. The most common symptoms of mid- to advanced-stage kidney cancer are
- Blood in the urine:The amount of blood is usually high enough to change the colour of your urine to a reddish or dark brown colour
- A persistent pain in your side, just below the ribs
- A lump or swelling in the area of your kidneys (on either side of the body)
However, in around half of all cases the cancer causes no symptoms and is only detected during a routine ultrasound scan.
Identifying cancer type could lead to personalised treatments
The research, published in three papers in the journal Cell, analysed kidney cancers in 100 patients.
The team, at the Francis Crick Institute, genetically mapped out the cancers’ histories from dozen ofsamples taken from different areas of the same tumour.
By working out how closely related the tumours are, they can tell how quickly the cancer is mutating and therefore how aggressive it may become.
Fast-growing tumours are likely to grow so quickly they will spread round the body before they are even detected.
This means surgery to remove the tumour could delay the use of chemotherapy drugs that slow the disease.
The researchers hope their findings will lead to a blood test that flags up an individuals’ cancer type and its likely outcome, which could open the door to personalised treatments.
How serious is kidney cancer?
Each year around 12,600 people in the UK are diagnosed with kidney cancer and 4,400 die from the disease.
Well-known sufferers of the disease in recent years include the broadcaster James Whale, who survived. Joan Collins’ former husband Anthony Newley died of the disease in 1999.
It is one of the fastest growing cancers in terms of incidence, with rates increasing by 50 per cent in the past decade.
Risk factors for kidney cancer include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and a family history of the disease.
Tell-tale symptoms include blood in the urine.
Broadcaster James Whale survived kidney cancer after being diagnosed in 2000
Joan Collins’ former husband Anthony Newley died of the disease in 1999 aged 67
