Talk about it to stay close to those who find themselves in the difficult situation of a patient diagnosed with kidney cancer. And look for ‘certified’ information but also support and sharing. With this spirit, the information and awareness campaign on kidney cancer ‘Side by Side’ was born, launched today by MSD Italia with the patronage of the Italian Society of Urology – SIU and the National Association of Kidney Cancer – A.N.TU.RE.
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Timeliness of diagnosis and survival rates
In Italy, renal cell carcinoma affects 144,000 people, with an estimated incidence in 2022 of around 12,600 new cases, of which 7,800 men and 4,800 women. Since the symptoms of the disease often remain silent, over half of the diagnoses occur randomly, during tests, usually ultrasound, carried out for other reasons. In 55% of patients, the tumor is diagnosed when it is still located in the kidney, which increases the overall survival rate. Timely diagnosis is an essential weapon to effectively attack the disease and have a more favorable prognosis: over 50% of patients diagnosed at an early stage recover. In 25-30% of cases, unfortunately, the disease is already diagnosed in an advanced or metastatic stage and requires an appropriate therapeutic approach.
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The risk factors
In the fight against kidney cancer it is important to identify risk factors because avoiding them is the only way to prevent them: cigarette smoking is the most important and its impact is proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked every day and to the number of years of exposure. Obesity and arterial hypertension follow. But information on these issues is often lacking and one becomes aware of the risks only when the diagnosis has already arrived.
Accurate information online
This is why it is important to spread a culture of prevention as this campaign proposes to do through a portal entirely dedicated to renal cell carcinoma, tumoredelrene.it, where it is possible to find complete, accurate and highly scientific information on the pathology thanks also to the collaboration with the project partners. “We immediately joined the ‘Side by Side’ campaign – he comments Tonia Cinquegrana, ANTURE President – because specific information on this pathology is very difficult to find. When patients receive the diagnosis, they find it difficult to orient themselves and find a comparison with those who have already had this experience. Sharing, on the other hand, is very useful, it gives courage and provides concrete indications on how to face the therapeutic path and the life change that lies ahead”.
A team effort
In case of suspicion of kidney cancer, the specialists to contact are the urologist, who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of pathologies affecting the urinary tract, the radiologist, who carries out biomedical imaging tests requests, including ultrasounds and CT scans, and the oncologist, the doctor who deals with the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. “From a therapeutic point of view – he says Joseph Carrieri, SIU President – localized kidney cancer is treated by the urologist with surgery, removing the entire kidney or part of it if there are small tumors. In the case of metastatic kidney cancer, chemotherapy treatments are not very effective and therefore oncologists use targeted therapies and immunotherapy, which help to stop the growth of the tumor or its spread to other organs”.
The social media campaign
Numerous contents and insights on risk factors, symptoms, early diagnosis but also on therapeutic opportunities and the daily management of the disease. The aim of the initiative is to support patients and caregivers in dealing with the diagnosis and the consequent treatment path, trying to build a support network around them thanks to which they can find trust and comfort. ‘Side by Side’ also includes a social media campaign on Facebook (MSDsalute) and Instagram (@msd_salute) with the aim of encouraging dialogue on the topic of kidney cancer and above all of making useful information on the disease available to the public in order to increase its knowledge thanks to the great dissemination power of social networks. “Our company has been involved in the field of oncology for many years – he says Nicoletta Luppi, president and CEO of MSD Italia – and pursues an advanced and holistic vision in the approach to cancer, working not only on the scientific research of new therapeutic treatments, but also on prevention and correct information, enhancing diversity and inclusion. It was precisely these values that inspired us in thinking, together with SIU and ANTURE, of the Fianco a Fianco campaign”.