Kidney Cancer: Treatment Choices

There are various treatment choices for kidney cancer. Which may work best for you? It depends on a number of factors. These include the type, size, location, and stage of your cancer. Factors also include your age, overall health, and what side effects you’ll find acceptable.

Learning about your treatment options

You may have questions and concerns about your treatment options. You may also want to know how you’ll feel and function after treatment, and if you’ll have to change your normal activities.

The healthcare provider is the best person to answer your questions. He or she can tell you what your treatment choices are, how successful they’re expected to be, and what the risks and side effects are. Your healthcare provider may advise a specific treatment. Or he or she may offer more than 1, and ask you to decide which one you’d like to use. It can be hard to make this decision. It is important to take the time you need to make the best decision.

Deciding on the best plan may take some time. Talk with your healthcare provider about how much time you can take to explore your options. You may want to get another opinion before deciding on your treatment plan. In fact, some insurance companies may require a second opinion. In addition, you may want to involve your family and friends in this process. 

Understanding the goals of treatment for kidney cancer

Treatment may control or cure the kidney cancer. It can also improve your quality of life by helping to control the symptoms of the disease. The goal of kidney cancer treatment is to do 1 or more of these things:

• Remove the primary kidney cancer tumor or other tumors

• Kill or stop the growth or spread of kidney cancer cells

• Prevent or delay the cancer's return

• Ease symptoms of the cancer, such as pain or pressure on organs

Types of treatment for kidney cancer

Treatment options include:

• Surgery. Surgery to remove the kidney is called a nephrectomy. Surgery is used to remove the kidney with the tumor and any nearby lymph nodes that contain cancer. You may also have surgery to ease pressure or pain. The remaining kidney is often able to do the work of both kidneys.

• Biologic therapy. This is also known as immunotherapy. It uses medicines that work like chemicals that your body’s immune system makes. They help your immune system fight the cancer.

• Radiation therapy. This treatment kills cancer cells with high-energy X-rays. Radiation is most often used when the kidney cancer has spread to certain bones or the brain. It may be used to treat symptoms such as cough or pain.

• Chemotherapy. This treatment uses 1 or more medicines to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. They work by attacking rapidly growing cells. Regular chemotherapy medicines are not often very effective against kidney cancer.

• Targeted therapy. These are medicines that target specific parts of kidney cancer cells to kill them or slow their growth. These medicines work differently from regular chemotherapy medicines. They’re often used to treat advanced kidney cancer.

• Ablation therapy. There are 2 main types of ablation therapy used to treat kidney cancer. They’re both done by putting a needle into an area of cancer cells. This is a less-invasive treatment that causes less bleeding. It also keeps the side effects to a small area of the body. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses energy waves to kill cancer cells. Cryoablation uses extreme cold to kill cancer cells.

• Supportive care. Your healthcare provider may advise therapies that help ease your symptoms, but don’t treat the cancer. Your healthcare provider may suggest supportive care if he or she believes that available treatments are more likely to do you more harm than good.

Your healthcare provider may suggest that you have more than 1 of these types of treatment. This is sometimes called combination therapy. Newer types of treatment may be available only through a research study. This is called a clinical trial. Talk with your healthcare provider about what clinical trials may be an option for you.