Surgery to remove kidney cancer that has spread is known as cytoreductive surgery. Generally, surgery is not recommended if you are unwell or if the cancer has spread to many places in the body.
Two types of cytoreductive surgery may be possible in some situations:
- nephrectomy – to remove the primary cancer in the kidney. This may be offered when the kidney cancer is causing symptoms or when there is very little cancer spread outside the kidney. It can also be used in some people who have responded well to systemic treatment
- metastasectomy – to remove some or all of the tumours that have spread. This may be offered when the cancer has spread to only a few places outside the kidney.
For more on this, see our general section on Surgery.
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Dr Alarick Picardo, Urologist, Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA; Heidi Castleden, Consumer; Donna Clifford, Urology Nurse Practitioner, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Mike Kingsley, Consumer; Prof Paul De Souza, Medical Oncologist and Professor of Medicine, Nepean Cancer Care Centre, The University of Sydney, NSW; Prof Declan Murphy, Urologist and Director of Genitourinary Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Luke O’Connor, Urology Nurse, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; A/Prof Shankar Siva, Radiation Oncologist and Cancer Council Victoria Colebatch Fellow, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; A/Prof Homi Zargar, Uro-Oncologist and Robotic Surgeon, Western Health and Royal Melbourne Hospital, VIC.
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.
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