Renal Cell Carcinoma: Case Report and Aeromedical Consideration

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is common primary tumor of kidney. In the past, it had been considered a difficult tumor to manage since the detection was usually delayed until paraneoplastic syndrome and/or distant metastasis appeared due to its slow progression. However, the recent popularization of ultrasound and computed tomography has made RCC one of the easily curable cancers. Eighty percent are found early, mostly with tumor size less than 5 cm. Five-year survival rate after successful nephrectomy is exceeded 80–90 percent. Curative nephrectomy can be tried in stage 1 and 2, and some cases of stage 3. In these cases, return to flight can be considered after 6 to 12 months’ observation. It should be monitored any occurrence of cancer recurrence, need for systemic treatment, metastasis, and paraneoplastic syndrome, etc. If any signs of recurrence are found or new treatment needs to be initiated, the flight should be suspended. If there is no recurrence for more than 5 to 10 years, the patient doesn’t have to be followed anymore.

Keywords

• renal cell carcinoma
• aviation medicine
• cancer stage