The earlier a kidney cancer is discovered the more effective treatment is likely to be. A team of specialists, usually including a urologist, an oncologist and a radiation oncologist, treats patients with this disease.

The team may decide to use one treatment method or a combination of methods. Each patient will have an individualized treatment strategy that takes into consideration the size and location of the tumor, results of the lab tests, the stage or extent of the disease, and the patient’s kidney function, age, general health, and preferences about treatment options.

The treatments described below refer primarily to renal cell cancer.  

• Surgery performed by a urologic surgeon is the primary treatment option for kidney cancer. For most kidney cancer patients, it is a necessary step, without which their chances of long-term survival are poor. The type of surgery depends on the stage and grade of the tumor. Kidney surgery is traditionally done with an incision on the side or through the front of the abdomen. Jefferson University Hospital physicians are experienced in performing this type of surgery laparoscopically to shorten recovery time. The procedure is sometimes referred to as “keyhole surgery” because of the small incision required to perform it. Jefferson University Hospital urologic surgeons have been performing laparoscopic surgery since 1990 and were one of the first groups in the region to perform laparoscopic kidney procedures.
  • Radical nephrectomy is an operation in which the surgical team removes the entire kidney, along with the adrenal gland and some nearby fatty tissue. This is the operation most commonly performed to treat renal cell cancer. The surgeon will often remove nearby lymph nodes as well. This can be done using standard incisions or using innovative laparoscopic techniques.
  • Partial nephrectomy is sometimes used to treat smaller renal cell cancers. In this procedure, the surgeon removes only the part of the kidney containing the cancer, and leaves the rest of the organ in place. Jefferson physicians are also using cyroablation (freezing) for treating small cancerous kidney tumors in selected patients. This procedure may be preferable for patients with cancer in both kidneys and for those whose cancer has occurred in their only functioning kidney. Jefferson’s urologic surgeons are experienced in performing this procedure laparoscopically.
  • Arterial embolization is a special interventional technique that blocks the artery feeding the cancerous kidney. A specialist will insert a catheter through a blood vessel in the groin, pass it up to the kidney, and inject a material to stop the flow of blood to the diseased kidney. Both the kidney and the tumor will die. This procedure is sometimes performed before surgery to kill some of the cancer cells and to reduce bleeding during the surgery, or as a treatment for patients who cannot have surgery at the current time. It is reserved for very large tumors that are difficult to remove.
• For kidney cancer, radiation therapy is not used to treat the main kidney tumor. For patients with inoperable or widespread metastatic kidney cancer, radiation therapy may serve to treat symptoms (palliative therapy), helping to lessen pain or bleeding. In such cases, radiation is not intended as a cure but as a way of easing the patient’s discomfort.
• Biological therapy and immunotherapy broadly refer to the use of techniques, compounds, and factors native to or influencing the body’s natural disease-fighting abilities. The goal is to strengthen and redirect a patient’s physical response against cancer. These approaches seek to help the body kill off cancer cells in the same way that it would fight an infection. Agents such as interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha are currently approved by the FDA for treating metastatic kidney cancer and are the standard treatments for advanced kidney cancer. Jefferson is also conducting a clinical trial of a new agent called Oncophage to prevent recurrence of cancer in patients at high risk for such a recurrence after surgery for renal cell cancer (see Clinical Trials). Recent results also point to a possible enhanced effect from combining biological therapy and chemotherapy (chemobiological therapy).
• Chemotherapy has shown only limited effectiveness against kidney cancer but is sometimes used in addition to surgery for this disease. Medical researchers are currently trying new drugs and new drug combinations in the hope of finding a form of chemotherapy that is more effective.
• Hormone therapy, which is aimed at controlling growth of cancer cells through the use of hormones or drugs influencing the actions of hormones, has shown only very limited effectiveness against kidney cancer. Hormone therapy is used with a very small number of patients and remains under study.
• Cancer centers such as Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center offer many ongoing experimental trials for various types of cancers. These trials currently include stem cell transplantation for patients with metastatic renal cell cancer as well as vaccine trials.