Expert Care From World-Class Kidney Cancer Specialists

What Is Kidney Cancer?

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on either side of the spine just below the ribcage. They remove waste products and extra water from the blood as urine, filtering about 45 gallons of blood per day. Also called renal cancer, kidney cancer occurs when healthy cells in one or both kidneys begin to multiply out of control. Over time, these cells form a mass (a tumor). A cancerous (malignant) tumor can spread to other parts of the body through a process called metastasis.

Kidney cancer accounts for about 3 percent of all adult cancers in the U.S., with about 30,000 new cases diagnosed every year. It is the third most common urologic cancer.

Types of Kidney Cancer

Renal Cell Carcinoma

Also called renal cell cancer or renal cell adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer. RCC accounts for about 9 out of 10 kidney cancers. RCC most often grows as a single tumor within one kidney. Sometimes RCC develops as multiple tumors in one or both kidneys.

Renal Sarcoma

Renal sarcomas is a rare form of kidney cancer that begins in the soft tissues of the kidney, including the blood vessels and the connective tissue that encapsulates the organ. These tumors account for less than 1 percent of all kidney cancers.

Wilms Tumor

Also called nephroblastoma, Wilms tumor is a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children. It is the most common kidney cancer found in children. Wilms tumor typically affects children ages 3 to 4, but it can occur in older children and adults.

Hereditary Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer risk is typically not passed down from parent to child. Hereditary kidney cancer, which accounts for about 5 to 8 percent of all kidney cancers, is usually linked to other inherited syndromes.

Urothelial Cancer

Urothelial cancer (UC), also known as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), is cancer that begins in the urothelial cells that line the renal pelvis, urethra, bladder and other parts of the urinary tract. Urothelial cells are transitional cells that can change shape and stretch without breaking, allowing the urinary tract to expand to store and move urine.

The renal pelvis is the area at the center of the kidney that collects and funnels urine into the ureter, the long tube that connects the kidneys to your bladder. Transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter is a rare urinary tract cancer that primarily affects adults ages 65 and older.

Expert Diagnostic Capabilities

Most kidney tumors are discovered incidentally during imaging tests done for other reasons. If your doctor suspects you have kidney cancer, diagnostic tests may include:

• Blood and urine laboratory tests:
  • While not used to diagnose kidney cancer directly, a blood test can sometimes be the first indicator that a person has a kidney issue. For an individual who has already been diagnosed with kidney cancer, blood tests are done to get a sense of their overall health and to help see if their cancer has spread outside the kidney.
  • A standard urine test (urinalysis) can show if someone has blood in their urine, a common symptom of kidney cancer. Also, a test called a urine cytology is done to look for cancer cells in the urine of people who have a tumor in the renal pelvis (the middle part of the kidney).
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP): A set of X-rays of the kidney, ureters and bladder with injection of a contrast dye into a vein to detect tumors and other abnormalities and to assess renal blood flow.
• Renal angiography (or arteriography): A series of X-rays where contrast dye in introduced into catheter placed into the blood vessels of the kidney to detect signs of blockage or other abnormalities affecting the kidney’s blood supply.
• Other imaging tests, including positron emission tomography (PET) scan with tracer , computed tomography scan (also called CT or CAT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), chest X-ray, ultrasound (also called sonography) and bone scan.

Based on the results of your diagnostic testing, a biopsy may be needed. A biopsy removes a sample of the tumor for further evaluation.

What Causes Kidney Cancer?

Certain factors can increase the risk of developing kidney cancer, including:

Kidney Cancer Survival Rates

The 5-year survival rate for kidney cancer is 77.6 percent. The 5-year survival rate changes based on a variety of factors:

Importantly, survival rates vary widely from one person to another, depending on the type and stage of cancer as well as their overall health. Average survival rates also don’t reflect the most recent advances in kidney cancer treatment.

Access to Kidney Cancer Specific Research and Clinical Trials

The cancer team at UH Seidman Cancer Center is discovering the next generation of innovations in kidney cancer care. Our experts are on the Renal Task Force for the National Cancer Institute to evaluate national and international research opportunities to improve care. In addition, University Hospitals participates in the International Radiation Oncology Consortium for Kidney (IROCK) to gather data to improve outcomes in kidney cancer patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.

UH Seidman Cancer Center offers kidney cancer clinical trials for eligible patients. By receiving your care at an academic medical center such as University Hospitals, you can receive access to cutting-edge treatments that may not be available elsewhere.

Kidney tumors are usually detected with imaging tests such as CT and ultrasound or with a biopsy. However, conventional imaging can’t distinguish between benign and malignant tumors, and a biopsy is invasive and can’t detect kidney cancer that has spread.

A new type of PET scan may improve kidney cancer detection. This scan uses a tracer (or imaging agent) called 89Zr-DFO-girentuximab that is injected into the vein prior to the scan. Currently under clinical investigation, this new imaging agent has the potential to become the new standard of care for diagnosing ccRCC, the most common type of kidney cancer. In comparison to more traditional imaging methods, studies have demonstrated that PET scans using this tracer can:

• More accurately detect ccRCC, including the tumor’s size and location.
• Differentiate ccRCC from other types of kidney cancer.
• Detect ccRCC when it’s smaller, possibly before it has a chance to spread.
• Show if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Image of kidneys: PET Scan with new imaging agent (left) compared to CT Scan (right)

While the FDA continues to review clinical data, UH Seidman Cancer Center is one of very few cancer centers in the country that has been granted expanded access to offer PET scans with 89Zr-DFO-girentuximab to patients through a clinical study. If you’ve been diagnosed with a kidney mass, your medical oncologist can determine if you might benefit from participating in the trial. All adult patients found with renal mass in conventional CT scans are eligible to participate in this clinical study.