Staging means finding out how far kidney cancer has spread in your body. Physicians group kidney cancer into stages I (1) through IV (4), with stage I being the least advanced and stage IV being the most advanced.
When your Fred Hutch Cancer Center team designs your treatment plan, they will consider the stage of your kidney cancer along with many other factors. The stage is an important part of choosing which treatments are right for you.
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Stages of Kidney Cancer
The stage of kidney cancer depends on:
- The size and location of your tumor and whether it is confined to the kidney
- If it has spread to nearby lymph nodes
- If it has spread to distant parts of your body (metastaticized)
We also compare the cancer cells to normal cells to tell the cancer grade. The grade helps your physicians predict how your kidney cancer will behave (how aggressive it is).
Stage I (1)
In stage I kidney cancer, the tumor is 7 centimeters (cm) or smaller and is found in the kidney only.
Stage II (2)
In stage II kidney cancer, the tumor is larger than 7 cm and is found in the kidney only.
Stage III (3)
In stage III kidney cancer, one of the following is found:
- The cancer in the kidney is any size, and cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes
- The cancer has spread to blood vessels in or near the kidney (renal vein or vena cava), to the fat around the structures in the kidney that collect urine, or to the layer of fatty tissue around the kidney and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage IV (4)
In stage IV kidney cancer, one of the following is found:
- The cancer has spread beyond the layer of fatty tissue around the kidney and may have spread into the adrenal gland above the kidney with cancer or to nearby lymph nodes
- The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs, brain, adrenal glands or distant lymph nodes.
How to Know Your Kidney Cancer Stage
As part of your diagnosis with kidney cancer, you will have imaging scans and other tests, like biopsies, to tell if the cancer has spread and where. In a biopsy, a tissue sample is removed with a needle and a pathologist checks to see if it contains cancer cells.
If you have had staging tests and you already know the stage of your cancer before you come to Fred Hutch, we will look at the test results before your first appointment. If you have not had these tests, we will talk with you about which tests you need, why you need them, how to get them and when you can expect results.
Researchers at Fred Hutch and beyond are always looking for better ways to treat advanced or metastatic kidney cancer. Clinical trials are going on to test new drugs or new combinations of drugs. In recent years, patients have benefited from newer targeted therapies and immunotherapies, like immune checkpoint inhibitors.