Kidney cancer is a disease of the urinary tract. Most cases are caught when the chances for a successful treatment are highest, before the disease has spread to distant parts of the body. As a result, kidney cancer’s five-year survival rate is about 75%.
People have two kidneys, one on each side of the back above the waist. Kidneys filter blood. The waste they collect is carried in the urine, which is produced by microscopic tubules inside the kidney. Urine flows from the kidneys through tubes called ureters and down into the bladder.
Kidney cancer arises from these microscopic tubules. Although the disease usually grows as a single tumor within the kidney, in rare cases a kidney may contain more than one tumor, or tumors may be found in both kidneys.
Surgery offers the highest chance for successful treatment when kidney cancer has not spread. Once the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the lungs, bones or brain, the chance for a cure is much lower.
Kidney cancer types
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC): This is the most common type of kidney cancer. There are several sub-types of RCC based on the genetic changes in the cancer cells. These include clear cell, papillary, chromophobe and collecting duct carcinomas, among others. Clear cell carcinoma accounts for 80% of all RCC cases, and most treatments are focused on this type.
Wilms’ tumor: This is a childhood cancer, responsible for 95% of pediatric kidney cancer cases. Read more about Wilm’s tumor.
Urothelial cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter: Cancer of the urinary tract that occurs in the part of the kidney that collects urine or in the ureter is called urothelial carcinoma. Although it is frequently called kidney cancer, it is actually more like a bladder cancer, since most bladder cancers also form urothelial cells. Read more about urothelial cancer on our bladder cancer page.
Renal medullary carcinoma: This is a rare kidney cancer usually found in younger black people. Learn more about renal medullary carcinoma.
A small number of kidney cancer cases can be passed down from one generation to the next. Genetic counseling may be right for you. Learn more about the risk to you and your family on our genetic testing page.
Kidney cancer causes and risk factors
Anything that increases your chance of getting kidney cancer is called a risk factor.
The known risk factors for kidney cancer include:
- Smoking: This is the biggest risk factor for kidney cancer. Chemicals in tobacco smoke are absorbed into the blood, and then pass through the kidneys and collect in the urine. These chemicals can damage the kidneys and increase the risk of developing kidney cancer.
- Age: Most cases occur after age 50
- Gender: Men are more than twice as likely to get kidney cancer as women
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- Advanced kidney disease and long-term kidney dialysis
- Race: African-Americans have a slightly higher rate of papillary kidney cancer.
- Rare inherited conditions including von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
- Family history of kidney cancer
Not everyone with risk factors gets kidney cancer. However, if you have risk factors, it’s a good idea to discuss them with your doctor.
Why choose MD Anderson for your kidney cancer care?
MD Anderson's method of delivering personalized care for kidney cancer can make a crucial difference in your outcome and recovery.
In the Genitourinary Cancer Center, you are the focus of a team of experts who specialize in kidney cancer and strive to provide the most advanced treatment with the least impact on your body. This team includes pathologists who specialize in diagnosing specific types and subtypes of kidney cancer; medical, radiation and surgical oncologists with deep expertise in treating the disease; along with specially trained support staff.
Working together, this team utilizes leading-edge technology and techniques from diagnosis through treatment. Your kidney cancer treatment options may include:
- Kidney-sparing surgery
- Laparoscopic and robotic surgery
- Targeted therapies and immunotherapies that are extending the lives of patients with metastatic kidney cancer
- Cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation and active surveillance for patients with small tumors.
- Innovative clinical trials of new cancer drugs and surgical procedures
At MD Anderson, you also benefit from one of the most active kidney cancer research programs in the United States. This means we are able to offer a wide range of clinical trials (research studies) for new treatments for most types and stages of kidney cancer.
Here, you're also surrounded by the strength of one of the nation's largest and most experienced comprehensive cancer centers, which has all the support and wellness services needed to treat the whole person – not just the disease.
There's always hope beyond what you see.
MD Anderson's Genitourinary Center
