Types of kidney cancer

Each year, about 6200 people in the UK are diagnosed with kidney cancer. It affects more men than women and becomes more common as people get older. It is rare for people under 40 to get kidney cancer, but there is an uncommon type (Wilms’ tumour|, also known as nephroblastoma) that affects very young children.

Cancer of the kidney isn’t infectious and can’t be passed on to other people. Usually only one kidney is affected. It is rare for cancer to occur in the other kidney.

About 90% of kidney cancers are renal cell cancers (RCC). They are sometimes called renal adenocarcinoma. There are different subtypes of renal cell cancer which can be identified by looking at the cells under a microscope. The most common subtype is clear cell. Other, less common, types include papillary (or chromophilic), chromophobic, oncocytic, collecting duct and sarcomatoid.

There is a rarer type of kidney cancer, known as transitional cell cancer (TCC), which starts in the cells lining the central area of the kidney (the renal pelvis). The tests and treatment for transitional cell cancer are very different.

This section describes the tests and treatments for renal cell cancers. Our page on cancer of the ureter and renal pelvis covers the treatment of transitional cell cancer.