Survival for kidney cancer (2024)

FAQs

Can you live a full life with kidney cancer? ›

Survival for all stages of kidney cancer

around 80 out of 100 people (around 80%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more. more than 65 out of 100 people (more than 65%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more. more than 50 out of 100 people (more than 50%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more.

Follow-Up and Survivorship. Renal cell cancer, also called renal adenocarcinoma or hypernephroma, can often be cured if it is diagnosed and treated when still localized to the kidney and the immediately surrounding tissue. The probability of cure is directly related to the stage or degree of tumor dissemination.

About two-thirds of people are diagnosed when the cancer is located only in the kidney. For this group, the 5-year relative survival rate is 93%. If kidney cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year relative survival rate is 72%.

Around 20% of people with kidney cancer experience a recurrence of their cancer after a nephrectomy. People with a higher grade or stage of cancer are at a higher risk of recurrence. Surgery is the most common treatment for kidney cancer.

The 5-year survival rate for all types of kidney cancer combined is 77.6%. That means you're 77.6% as likely to live at least 5 years as people who don't have cancer.

In the case of kidney cancer, around 72% of those diagnosed live for at least one year after diagnosis, about 56% live for at least 5 years and about 50% live for 10 years or more.

“Low grades of kidney cancer tend to be slow-growing, while high grades can multiply fast. The other types that are found to be more aggressive are papillary (types 1 & 2), chromophobe, medullary and oncocytic.”

Kidney cancer can spread to more distant areas of your body after a nephrectomy. This is called metastasis.

Type of kidney cancer

Papillary and chromophobe types of renal cell carcinoma have a better prognosis because they are often low grade. Collecting duct carcinoma and renal medullary carcinoma have a poor prognosis because they are often very aggressive.

Much progress has been made over the last few decades, especially in identifying genes that can drive the development of kidney cancer. This knowledge has led to more effective treatments. Today, about 75% of people with kidney cancer will be alive 5 years after diagnosis.

Where is the first place kidney cancer spreads to? ›

Kidney cancer can spread to one or more areas of the body. The most common places are the: lymph nodes. lungs.

Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma (HLRCC) is considered one of the most aggressive forms of kidney cancer. A key characteristic of this cancer is the lack of an enzyme called fumarate hydratase (FH).

The average age of people when they are diagnosed is 64 with most people being diagnosed between ages 65 and 74. Kidney cancer is very uncommon in people younger than age 45. Kidney cancer is about twice as common in men than in women and it is more common in African Americans, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

With no time to spare, Andy began treatments two weeks later, which included minimally invasive surgery. After his wife and Andy met with his team, his wife, Theresa, said, “everything happened so fast.” The wonderful news is, after two years of treatments, Andy is 4 months cancer-free as of March 2023.

But a new survey report* released today by Kidney Cancer UK – the UK's leading kidney cancer charity – has found that almost one in four (23%) kidney cancer patients are being initially misdiagnosed with a range of more than 10 conditions before reaching the correct diagnosis.

The five-year survival rate in this stage drops to 8 percent . That means that out of 100 people, 8 people diagnosed with stage 4 cancer will still be living five years after receiving their diagnosis.