Renal cell carcinoma

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Kidney anatomy

Kidney - blood and urine flow

Kidney metastases, CT scan

Kidney tumor - CT scan

Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer. The cancerous cells are found in the lining of very small tubes (tubules) in the kidney. It is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults.

Renal cancer; Kidney cancer; Hypernephroma; Adenocarcinoma of renal cells; Cancer - kidney

Renal cell carcinoma affects about 3 in 10,000 people, resulting in about 32,000 new cases in the US per year. Every year, about 12,000 people in the US die from renal cell carcinoma. It occurs is most common in people between 50 and 70 years of age, and typically affects men.

The exact cause is unknown.

Risk factors include:

• Smoking
• Genetics
• Family history of the disease
• Dialysis treatment
• von Hippel-Lindau disease, a hereditary disease that affects the capillaries of the brain

The first symptom is usually blood in the urine. Sometimes both kidneys are involved. The cancer spreads easily, most often to the lungs and other organs. About one-third of patients have spreading (metastasis) at the time of diagnosis.

Review Date: 12/21/2005
Reviewed By: Marcia S. Brose, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hematology/Oncology, The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.