World Kidney Cancer Day: What are the main symptoms of the disease

World Kidney Cancer Awareness Day has been established since 2017 by the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) and is celebrated every year on June 21.

The aim of this day is to provide more complete information and awareness for a "forgotten", as the IKCC characterizes it, disease.

How common is kidney cancer?
Kidney cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the world, in the same position as pancreatic cancer. Less than 0.05% of people who develop cancer receive a diagnosis of kidney cancer. Thus, kidney cancer is considered a fairly rare cancer.

However, kidney cancer is one of the cancers with the highest increase in all countries of the world. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) predicts a 22% increase in incidence, from 338,000 in 2012 to 413,000 per year by 2020. This steady increase in incidence highlights kidney cancer as a public health threat worldwide.

Factors thought to be driving increasing trends in kidney cancer incidence include the aging of the world's population, the spread of obesity and hypertension, and smoking.
Symptoms of kidney cancer
Kidney cancer is characterized as a "silent" disease, as it often does not cause obvious signs and symptoms. The diagnosis is often made incidentally during an X-ray, ultrasound or other test to investigate another condition.

When it causes symptoms, usually at a more advanced stage, they can be non-specific and refer to other conditions, further complicating the diagnosis.

By clicking on the photos in the gallery below, you can see which symptoms are most closely associated with kidney cancer. Do not hesitate to consult your doctor if you experience one or more of these discomforts.