Treatment for kidney cancer depends on the location and size of the tumor and whether the cancer has spread to other organs. The person's age and general health are also considered in developing a treatment plan to fit the patient's needs.

Treatment Methods

Kidney cancer is treated with surgery, embolization, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy, or chemotherapy. One treatment method or a combination can be used, depending on the patient's needs. In many cases, the patient is referred to doctors who specialize in different kinds of cancer treatment. Sometimes, several specialists work together as a team.

Most kidney cancer patients have surgery, an operation called a nephrectomy. In some cases, the surgeon removes the whole kidney or just the part of the kidney that contains the tumor. More often, the surgeon removes the whole kidney along with the adrenal gland and the fat around the kidney. Also, nearby lymph nodes may be removed because they are one of the first places where kidney cancer spreads. Finding cancer cells in the lymph nodes means there may be cancer elsewhere in the body.

In embolization, a substance is injected to clog the renal blood vessels. The tumor shrinks because it does not get the blood supply it needs to grow. In some cases, embolization makes surgery easier. When surgery is not possible, this treatment may help reduce pain and bleeding.

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-powered rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing. Radiation therapy can be used to shrink a tumor before surgery or to kill cancer cells that may remain in the body after surgery. For patients who cannot have surgery, radiation therapy may be used instead. Radiation can also be used to treat kidney cancer that has spread to the bones or other parts of the body.

The radiation comes from a large machine. The patient receives radiation therapy 5 days a week for 5 to 6 weeks. This schedule helps protect normal tissue by spreading out the total dose of radiation. The patient does not need to stay in the hospital for radiation therapy.

Surgery, embolization, and radiation therapy are forms of local therapy. They affect only the cells in the treated area. Hormone therapy, biological therapy, and chemotherapy are types of systemic therapy. The substances travel through the bloodstream and affect cells all over the body.

Some kidney cancers may be treated with hormones to control the growth of cancer cells. Some hormones are taken by mouth; others are given by injection. Patients do not need to be in the hospital for their treatment. This kind of treatment helps a small number of patients with advanced kidney cancer, especially when the disease has spread to the lungs.

Biological therapy is a new way of treating kidney cancer. This treatment attempts to improve the way the body's immune system fights disease. Interleukin-2 and interferon are two forms of biological therapy being studied to treat advanced kidney cancer. Doctors are also exploring the benefits of using biological therapy after surgery for early stage kidney cancer. This additional treatment is called adjuvant therapy. Doctors are trying to find out whether adjuvant biological therapy can prevent the cancer from recurring by killing undetected cancer cells that may remain in the body. Most patients having biological therapy must stay in the hospital so that the effects of their treatment can be monitored.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy has not been very effective against kidney cancer, but researchers are studying new drugs and new drug combinations that may prove to be useful.