Many MRIs (with Cysts) over the years - now incidental suspected kidney cancer after CT

Michael7

Hello guys,

I'm from Germany and I'm so happy that I found this community. I'm a researcher (non-medical) myself and I was reading through hundreds of scientific papers regarding kidney cancer (tumor size, subtype, recurrence, CT sensitivity ...) which made me highly depressed as the papers are often written very pessimistic and every human being is more or less seen as a number.

The reasons for this are my dad (60 yrs.) is suffering from spondylosis/spinal athrosis because of his work in the gastronomy as a waiter. So, he got a lot of unenhanced/non-constrast MRIs because of accurate syringe treatment. After the last MRI the radiologist stated in the incidental finding that there is a centrally located cystic alteration "Hyperintense in T2 signal with partly lower singals, e.g., a complex cyst possible" (approx. 5 cm) on his kidney and it's advised to re-check it with the general doc on Ultrasound. On the non-contrast MRI even for me that mass looks like a more or less rounded bright ball with an encapsuled structure. The general doc checked it and said that it looks solid to him and he should get a CT and speak about it with an urologist. Independently of that, 2 years before another urologist did a general checkup and declared the cyst/mass (3 cm) that time as a simple cyst to not worry about (shouldn't an urologist be at least very sure that it's a cyst despite US being not as accurate?).

After the CT abdomen with intraven. contrast a week ago the radiologist made the finding "In the first place looking like solid mass with a specific enhancement pattern that's highly suspicious for malginancy (5,2 cm). localized, no LN envolvement, no renal vein and vena cava involvement." Also the surrounding organs/bones look fine and no signs of distant disease. This was a huge shock for all of us as many of you can already imagine and I was devastated. As part of the German/international guidlines, he also got a CT thorax which showed no signs for metastatic alterations despite a solidary very small (4 mm lung nodule). So i googled again and it shocked me again despite the doc telling us that those nodules are common among people and he got his surgery appointment for this week. I'm thinking about that it might have spread all the time and my parents notice that I'm reading way too much about it. So, my father is way more positive than myself. The suspicious tumor is located centrally. So, we got three opinions of specialists. Two of them already decided based on imaging to to a radical nephrectomy while another very experienced kidney surgeon said he will decide during the surgery itself.

This community is more than a ray of hope. You are all great friendly people with different backgrounds and it seems that you're not only medically more advanced than in Europe. Reading about stories of individuals instead of research papers is cmpletely different. I'm just asking myelf all the time how a cyst can transform into a solid mass or it maybe never was a cyst. The CT sounds very clear for sure (a cyst shoud not enhance on imaging compared to a solid mass) but in Germany we don't get more specific findings from a radiologist despite what I've already wrote. I still have the hope it's maybe a benging mass but the odds seem very low for masses 5 cm.

(Sorry for potential rhetoric mistaktes as English is not my mother tongue)

AliceB1950

Welcome! First, everything on that scan is pretty good, size for stage 1, no involvement of fat or vein. The lung nodule really is unlikely to mean anything. I had my kidney cancer at age 68, and my oncologist (who I had for a different cancer the same year) said that small nodules are VERY common, as are small lesions on various organs, because part of aging is that we accumulate a lot of internal garbage, just like the external small scars and freckles and age spots. Most kidney cancers are found incidentally because it's very unusual to have any symptoms. The vast majority are cured with surgery only, with scans for about 5 years to follow. My father also had kidney cancer, and had his removed when he was 88, at the same time he had an aneurysm repaired. So your father is pretty young, and the tumor is not a scary size. Stop doing "research" because unless you are a trained medical researcher, you'll have outdated and discredited results mixed in with the legitimate information, and you dont have any way to know which is which. The doctors your father has seen sound very good!

Deanie0916

Hi Michael, glad you found this space to share and talk. I'm sorry that your father and family have to go through this. I agree with Alice B, try to stay away from Dr. Google. If you must go there, do pay attention to the dates of the articles, there is a lot if outdated info online. I have also been frustrated by scan readings using the word cyst and implying that is nothing to worry about. Having a doctor / surgeon who is experienced with kidney cancer is important. All the best to you and your father, please keep us updated.