What is kidney cancer?
There are several types of kidney cancer, but most cases are 'renal cell cancer'. This is sometimes called 'renal adenocarcinoma' or 'renal cell carcinoma' or 'hypernephroma'.
Renal cell cancer
This type of cancer develops from a cell in a kidney tubule which becomes cancerous. The cancer grows and forms into a tumour within the kidney. As the tumour grows:
- The affected kidney tends to become larger. In time the tumour may grow through the wall of the kidney and invade nearby tissues and organs such as the muscles around the spine, the liver, the nearby large blood vessels, etc.
- Some cells may break off into the lymph channels or bloodstream. The cancer may then spread to nearby lymph nodes or spread to other areas of the body (metastasise).
Renal cell cancers can be divided into several 'sub-types' by looking at certain features of the cells under a microscope. For example, most are 'clear cell' renal cell cancers, but some other types occur such as 'sarcomatoid', or 'granular' renal cell cancers. Knowing the sub-type of the cancer can be important as some respond to treatment better than others.
Other types of kidney cancer?
Some rare types of cancer arise from other types of cell within the kidney. For example:
- Transitional cell (urothelial) cancers are cancers which arise from transitional cells. These are cells which line the renal pelvis, ureters and bladder. Transitional cell cancer is common in the bladder, but in some cases it develops in the renal pelvis.
- Wilms Tumour and Clear Cell Sarcoma of the kidney are types of kidney cancer which develop only in children.
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