Treatments


Kidney cancer treatment is based on the exact type of kidney cancer diagnosed, your overall health and medical history, and the extent of the disease. You have the services of our multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists who will work together to develop a comprehensive treatment plan for you. A single or combination therapy will manage your kidney cancer.

Treatments for kidney cancers include:

  • Partial Nephrectomy

    This surgery removes just the tumor within the kidney and some of the tissue around it. This procedure can prevent loss of kidney function when the other kidney is damaged (or if it has already been removed).

  • Radical Nephrectomy

    This surgery removes the whole kidney, as well as the adrenal gland, surrounding tissue, and often the nearby lymph nodes. We often recommend it for larger or multiple kidney tumors. Specialists at Sylvester can typically do these laparoscopically and robotically with smaller incisions and shorter recovery time.

  • Nephroureterectomy

    This surgical technique helps in cases of transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter. We remove the kidney, ureter, and bladder cuff. This procedure can also be done robotically with a high degree of accuracy.

  • Segmental Resection of the Ureter

    Also for transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter, this procedure removes the part of the ureter that is cancerous and some of the healthy tissue surrounding it. The ends of the ureter are re-attached. This treatment is used in superficial cases when the cancer is only in the lower third of the ureter, near the bladder.

  • Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation and Cryoablation (Freezing)

    Very high or low temperatures can be used in a minimally invasive fashion to kill cancer cells without surgery.

  • Arterial Embolization

    The tumor can be shrunk with arterial embolization if surgery is not possible. We create a small incision and place a catheter into the main blood vessel flowing to the kidney. Small pieces of a special gelatin are released to block the blood flow to the kidney. This prevents the cancer cells from getting oxygen and other substances they need to grow. It may also be used before an operation to make surgery easier.

  • External Radiation Therapy

    This technique sends high levels of radiation precisely and directly to the cancer cells using a machine directed at the body. When compared with other cancers, kidney cancers are more resistant to radiation. Modern stereotactic radiation has been able to overcome this resistance. Delivering high doses of radiation in only a few treatments can result in improved tumor and pain control.

  • Chemotherapy

    This use of anticancer drugs to treat cancerous cells works, in most cases. Chemotherapy interferes with the cancer cell's ability to grow or reproduce. These drugs may be given into a vein or by mouth, in tablet form.

  • Biological Therapy

    Also called immunotherapy, this approach fights cancer by using material made by the body, or in a laboratory, to restore the body's natural defense against disease. Interferon and Interleukin are two examples of biological drugs used in the treatment of renal cell cancer.

  • Targeted Therapy

    Antiangiogenic agents enable treatment of advanced renal cell cancer. These keep blood vessels from forming in a tumor, causing the tumor to starve and stop growing or shrink. Monoclonal antibodies and kinase inhibitors are two specific examples of antiangiogenic agents that are used in the treatment of renal cell cancer.