SUTENT is used to treat advanced kidney cancer (advanced renal cell carcinoma or RCC).
RCC is cancer that starts in the kidneys. Often, a person who has RCC has had a
change in one of his or her genes. That gene is called VHL, or the von Hippel-Lindau
gene.
Some of the cancer cells may enter the bloodstream and spread to other parts of
the body. New tumors may then develop in other organs. This is called metastasis.
RCC may spread to your lungs, for example. If this happens, it is still called RCC
(metastatic RCC), not lung cancer.
RCC often grows as a single tumor within one kidney. Sometimes, more than one tumor
grows in one kidney. Less often, tumors grow in both kidneys at the same time.
Cancers, such as RCC, occur when cells grow out of control. Each cell is programmed
to grow or divide at certain times. Sometimes this genetic program breaks down.
This breakdown makes the cell grow and divide when it is not supposed to.
When this happens, it becomes a cancer cell. Soon a large mass of cancer cells forms.
The mass is called a tumor. Some tumors can spread and threaten your health.