Which is listed as a complication of cancer involving the kidney?

Which is listed as a complication of cancer involving the kidney?

• A. Adrenal insufficiency
• B. Spinal cord decompression
• C. Bronchopleural fistula
• D. Osteonecrosis

Answer: (A)

Adrenal insufficiency can occur when cancer involving the kidney affects the nearby adrenal glands, which sit directly on top of the kidneys. Kidney tumors can invade or metastasize to the adrenals, and when adrenal tissue is compromised, cortisol and aldosterone production falls. This leads to symptoms such as fatigue, low blood pressure, electrolyte disturbances (low sodium, high potassium), nausea, and dehydration, and can progress to adrenal crisis if not recognized. Other options don’t fit as common complications of kidney cancer involvement. Problems like spinal cord compression come from metastasis to the spine, bronchopleural fistula is associated with thoracic disease or lung surgery, and osteonecrosis is typically linked to long-term steroid use or other risk factors rather than direct kidney involvement. The key idea is the anatomical proximity of the adrenals to the kidneys and the possibility of adrenal impairment when kidney cancer spreads there.

Adrenal insufficiency can occur when cancer involving the kidney affects the nearby adrenal glands, which sit directly on top of the kidneys. Kidney tumors can invade or metastasize to the adrenals, and when adrenal tissue is compromised, cortisol and aldosterone production falls. This leads to symptoms such as fatigue, low blood pressure, electrolyte disturbances (low sodium, high potassium), nausea, and dehydration, and can progress to adrenal crisis if not recognized.

Other options don’t fit as common complications of kidney cancer involvement. Problems like spinal cord compression come from metastasis to the spine, bronchopleural fistula is associated with thoracic disease or lung surgery, and osteonecrosis is typically linked to long-term steroid use or other risk factors rather than direct kidney involvement. The key idea is the anatomical proximity of the adrenals to the kidneys and the possibility of adrenal impairment when kidney cancer spreads there.