Treatments and Therapies for Kidney Cancer

Page Contents

Fred Hutch Cancer Center offers comprehensive care for kidney cancer, from stage I (1) to stage IV (4). This includes advanced kidney cancer treatments and new options available only through clinical trials. The most common treatments for kidney cancer are surgery and immunotherapy. Often, patients have a combination of treatments. But not everyone needs all of these. We’ll tailor your treatment to you.

Kidney Cancer Care Tailored to You

You and your family are our top priority. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, we offer comprehensive and compassionate care — personalized to you. You'll have access to the latest treatment options, clinical trials and supportive care services.

Request an Appointment

Kidney Cancer Multispecialty Clinic

At Fred Hutch, some people with kidney cancer see providers at our Kidney Cancer Multispecialty Clinic. At this clinic, all the specialists who will be part of your care come together. They discuss treatment options and design treatment to meet your needs. You will receive a multidisciplinary treatment plan in a single day. Learn more about the Kidney Cancer Multispecialty Clinic.

How We Treat Kidney Cancer at Fred Hutch

There are more kidney cancer treatment options than ever before. Although the most common treatment for localized kidney cancer is still surgery, many new immunotherapies and targeted therapies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in recent years to treat metastatic kidney cancer. We match your treatment plan to your cancer stage and situation.

Chemotherapy

Common types of kidney cancer like, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), do not respond well to chemotherapy. But it may be used to treat certain patients with advanced RCC and transitional cell carcinoma as well as patients with uncommon types of kidney cancer, including medullary renal cell carcinoma or sarcomatoid renal cell carcinomas.

Surgery

As a patient at Fred Hutch, you’ll have surgery by a UW Medicine urologic surgeon. Your surgeon will be specially trained and board certified in urologic surgery. They will recommend the best procedure to match your needs.

Read About Kidney Cancer Surgery

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapies are some of the latest innovations at Fred Hutch. They use the power of your immune system to fight your cancer.

Your tissue biopsy can be tested to see if immunotherapy would be helpful for your cancer.

Read About Immunotherapy for Kidney Cancer

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is typically used to treat kidney cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, especially the brain or bones. Radiation therapy is painless and noninvasive, and each treatment takes only minutes.

Radiation may be used:

  • To help with symptoms of advanced kidney cancer, such as pain or bleeding
  • To prevent symptoms from tumors growing in critical areas, such as the brain or spinal cord

Different types of radiation are used for different situations. Two examples are radiosurgery and intensity-modulated or image-guided radiotherapy (IMRT/IGRT).

Radiosurgery

Radiosurgery is an advanced form of highly focused, high-dose radiation therapy that can kill tumors in fewer treatments than conventional radiation treatment — usually one to five sessions rather than daily sessions for several weeks. It has a greater than 95% chance of killing small tumors.

There are many names for this type of treatment, such as:

  • Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)
  • Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR)
  • CyberKnife or Gamma Knife (brand names)

Gamma Knife is specifically designed for treating tumors in the brain. It is not an actual knife or scalpel (neither is CyberKnife) — instead, it uses carefully focused beams of radiation. Patients are usually treated in one session.

IMRT/IGRT

To do IMRT/IGRT, a physician will use computed tomography (CT) to scan the tumor and create beams of radiation that closely match the tumor's shape. The beams have different shapes and intensities (strengths), so they can deliver a higher dose of radiation to the tumor and lower doses to nearby healthy tissue.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapies work in a more focused way than chemotherapy. Often used for advanced kidney cancer, these therapies may shrink tumors and control their growth for long periods.

Targeted therapies commonly used for kidney cancer include:

  • Axitinib: Inhibits tyrosine kinases and is used for people who have not responded to other medicines.
  • Cabozantinib: A tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and anti-angiogenesis (preventing the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow) medicine that blocks MET oncogene signaling.
  • Everolimus: Blocks mTOR and is typically used after other medicines, such as sorafenib or sunitinib, have been tried.
  • Lenvatinib: A TKI and anti-angiogenesis medicine that blocks signaling through FGFR (fibroblast growth factor receptor).
  • Pazopanib: A TKI and anti-angiogenesis medicine.
  • Sunitinib: A TKI that works by preventing the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow (anti-angiogenesis effect) and blocking cells from dividing and multiplying.
  • Tivozanib: A TKI and anti-angiogenesis medicine used for people who have not responded to other medicines.

Your care team will talk with you about the specific drugs we recommend for you, how you will receive them, your treatment schedule and what to expect. We will also explain how to take the best possible care of yourself during treatment and after, and we will connect you with medical and supportive care resources at Fred Hutch

What to Expect in Treatment

Localized Kidney Cancer With No Prior Treatment

If you have localized kidney cancer and you have not had treatment yet, our urologists are the experts who will plan and provide your care. Your first visit will be with this type of physician. Most people in your situation have surgery to remove the tumor. After surgery, your urologist may refer you to a medical oncologist to consider any adjuvant medical treatments (treatments to help keep your cancer from coming back) for your cancer.

Metastatic Kidney Cancer With No Prior Treatment

If you have metastatic kidney cancer and you have not had treatment yet, our medical oncologists are the right match for your needs. You will likely start by seeing one of them first. Most people in your situation do not have surgery. Medical oncologists specialize in medicine-based treatments for kidney cancer. Most patients will be treated with immunotherapy or targeted therapy.

Metastatic Kidney Cancer With Prior Treatment

If you have metastatic kidney cancer and you have had other treatments that are not working or caused too many side effects to continue, our medical oncologists will review your records to help you choose the best options for new treatment and supportive measures for managing symptoms. Our physicians will consider both standard treatments and clinical trials to find the best option for your situation.

Why Choose Fred Hutch for Kidney Cancer Treatment

At Fred Hutch, we understand this may be one of the most intense and challenging experiences you and your family ever go through. We are here to provide the care you need.  

Team-Based Care from Specialists

Fred Hutch has surgeons, medical oncologists and pathologists who specialize in kidney cancer. We offer the most advanced diagnostic, treatment and recovery programs. Along with treating your cancer, we also offer a range of services to support you and your caregiver. This is part of how we take care of you — not just your disease. From registered dietitians to Spiritual Health clinicians to social workers, our experts know how to care for people with kidney cancer.

Treatment Tailored to You

We view treatment as a collaborative effort. Your Fred Hutch physicians will explain all your options. We’ll recommend a treatment plan to get you the best results based on the stage and size of your cancer, where it is and your overall health.

Clinical Trials to Improve Outcomes

Many of our patients receive promising therapies by taking part in kidney cancer clinical trials. These research studies are done by physician-scientists from Fred Hutch and UW Medicine. They test new treatments or new ways to use current treatments. Every advance in cancer treatment in recent years has come out of clinical trials. Through the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium, we typically have more than 750 active clinical trials, which means more treatment options for people like you.

More Information on Kidney Cancer Treatment at Fred Hutch

In these videos, kidney cancer medical oncologist, Scott S. Tykodi, MD, PhD, discusses kidney cancer treatment options, how Fred Hutch tailors treatment for each patients, and the future of kidney cancer treatment. 

Dr. Scott S. Tykodi talks about the different types of treatment for kidney cancer.

Your goals and priorities play an important role in shaping the treatment plan we create for you. What’s important to you is also important to us.

Dr. Scott S. Tykodi discusses how immunotherapies, including many researched here at Fred Hutch, are changing cancer care. 

Kidney Cancer Treatment FAQ

Because there are different types of kidney cancer, there is no one way to treat everyone. However, many people are treated using surgery, radiation, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Physicians may use these one at a time or combine them.

At Fred Hutch, our standard always involves caring for you as a whole person. We help you get relief from side effects and provide many other forms of support, like integrative medicine, nutrition counseling, pain management, palliative care, rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Our patients also have the option to receive promising, new kidney cancer therapies that you can get only through a clinical trial. Many people come to Fred Hutch for access to these trials. Your care team will tell you about trials that might be right for you, so you can think about joining them.

Your physician, supported by a team of kidney cancer experts:

  • Decides on the best direction to take to start therapy
  • Thinks about the standard of care for your subtype
  • Looks into any clinical trials that match your needs, so you can think about joining them

Your physician will walk you and your caregiver through your treatment plan. You will have a chance to discuss your personal preferences and options, and you will decide together how to move forward.

The treatment plan we design for you depends on many factors, including:

  • Your kidney cancer subtype, because different subtypes start, grow and respond to treatments differently
  • If your kidney cancer is slow-growing (indolent) or fast-growing (aggressive)
  • The stage of your disease
  • If you have had treatment for kidney cancer in the past
  • Your age and overall health
  • Your needs and preferences, like what type of treatment schedule works in your life and if you want to join a clinical trial

Fred Hutch offers all standard treatment for kidney cancer. Our patients also have access to newer options or treatment combinations that you can only get through clinical trials.

Fred Hutch researchers are always looking for better ways to treat kidney cancer. We are doing clinical trials of new drugs and drug combinations to treat different types of kidney tumors. Our scientists are also developing new methods to tell which tumors are likely to respond best to which treatments.

Learn more about kidney cancer research.

If your loved one is getting targeted therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy or chemotherapy, there are many ways you can help. Caregiving during active treatment for kidney cancer often means doing tasks like these:

  • Keeping track of their appointments and driving them to and from treatment
  • Watching for changes in their condition and telling their care team about any symptoms
  • Providing physical care, like helping them take medicines
  • Spending time with them and encouraging them
  • Taking care of tasks at home that they might not be able to do, like grocery shopping and cleaning

View resources for caregivers.