Kidney cancer

What is the main type of kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer is cancer that starts in the cells of the kidney. About 9 out of 10 kidney cancers are renal cell carcinoma (RCC), sometimes called renal adenocarcinoma. RCCs start in the cells lining small tubes in the kidney’s nephrons. This information is about RCC.

In the early stages of RCC the primary cancer forms a tumour that is confined to the kidney. Usually only a single kidney is affected, but in rare cases both kidneys can be affected. As the cancer grows, it can spread to areas near the kidney, such as the surrounding fatty tissue, veins, adrenal glands, ureters or the liver. It may also spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bones.

Learn more about:

• The different types of renal cell carcinoma
• The other types of kidney cancer
• Who gets kidney cancer?
• What causes kidney cancer?
• The kidneys

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The different types of renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

There are several types of RCC, based on the way the cells look under a microscope. The most common type is clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

clear cell RCC	makes up about 75% of RCC cases cancer cells look empty or clear
papillary RCC	makes up about 10–15% of RCC cases cancer cells are arranged in finger-like fronds
chromophobe RCC	makes up about 5% of RCC cases cancer cells are large and pale
other types of RCC	include renal medullary carcinoma, collecting duct carcinoma, MiT family translocation RCC, sarcomatoid RCC and other very rare types together make up about 5–10% of RCC cases

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The other types of kidney cancer

RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer, but there are other less common types:

Urothelial carcinoma (or transitional cell carcinoma)

This can begin in the ureter or in the renal pelvis, where the kidney and ureter meet. Urothelial carcinoma of the kidney or ureter behaves and is treated like bladder cancer (another type of urothelial cancer), rather than like RCC.

For more on this, see Bladder cancer.

Wilms tumour (nephroblastoma) 

This is the most common type of kidney cancer in younger children, but it is still rare.

For more on this, see childrenscancer.canceraustralia.gov.au.

Secondary cancer 

Very rarely, cancer in the kidney can be a secondary cancer (metastasis) from a primary cancer located in another part of the body. However, this type of cancer is not kidney cancer and it behaves more like the original cancer.

For more on this, see our information on the type of primary cancer diagnosed.

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Who gets kidney cancer?

More than 3000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer in Australia each year. It makes up about 2.5% of all cancers. It is twice as common in men than women, and is the ninth most diagnosed cancer for Australian men. The risk of kidney cancer increases with age, and most cases occur in people over 50.

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What causes kidney cancer?

The factors listed below may increase the risk of a person developing kidney cancer. However, having one or more of these risk factors does not mean you will develop cancer.

• Smoking – People who smoke have almost twice the risk of developing kidney cancer as nonsmokers. Up to one-third of all kidney cancers are thought to be related to smoking.
• Obesity – Excess body fat may cause changes in certain hormones that can lead to kidney cancer.
• High blood pressure – Whatever the cause, high blood pressure increases the risk of kidney cancer.
• Kidney failure – People with end-stage kidney disease have a higher risk of developing kidney cancer.
• Family history – People who have family members with kidney cancer, especially a sister or brother, are at increased risk.
• Inherited conditions – About 2–3% of kidney cancers occur in people who have particular inherited syndromes, including von Hippel-Lindau disease, hereditary papillary RCC and Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.
• Exposure to toxic substances at work – The risk may be higher after regular exposure to certain chemicals, such as some metal degreasers, arsenic or cadmium.

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The kidneys

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are deep inside your abdomen, positioned near the middle of your back, on either side of the spine.

Blood filtering 

The main role of the kidneys is to filter and clean the blood. Blood goes into each kidney through the renal artery and is filtered through millions of tiny sieves called nephrons. It then goes back into the rest of the body through the renal vein.

The urinary system 

The kidneys are part of the body’s urinary system. When they filter the blood, they remove excess water and waste products and turn these into urine. Urine travels from each kidney into a funnel called the renal pelvis, then through a tube called the ureter, and into the bladder.

Urine is stored in the bladder until urination, when it leaves the body through a tube called the urethra. In women, the urethra is a short tube in front of the vagina. In men, the tube is longer and passes through the prostate and penis.

Hormone production 

The main function of the kidneys is to cleanse the blood, but they also help your body control how much blood it needs. They do this by making hormones that help regulate blood pressure and trigger the production of red blood cells.

Adrenal glands 

An adrenal gland sits above each kidney. The adrenal glands produce a number of hormones. Although these glands are not part of the urinary system, kidney cancer can sometimes spread to them.

The urinary system

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