What are the main types of kidney cancer?

The main types of kidney cancer are renal cell cancer, transitional cell cancer, and Wilms tumor. Kidney cancer occurs in both adults and children.

Renal cell cancer is the most common type. It starts in the lining of the tubules, the very small tubes inside the kidney that filter blood and make urine. You may also see it called renal cell adenocarcinoma. Pathologists sort it further by how the cells look, and the National Cancer Institute names clear cell and granular cell as two of those patterns.

Transitional cell cancer starts higher up in the drainage system. It begins in the cells lining the renal pelvis, the funnel that collects urine inside the kidney, and the ureter, the tube that carries urine to the bladder. Those same lining cells continue into the bladder, which is why this cancer is treated differently from renal cell cancer.

Wilms tumor is a kidney cancer that occurs in children.

Why the type is the first thing to pin down

Type is not a detail; it drives the whole plan. Renal cell cancer and transitional cell cancer start in different tissue, so they respond to different drugs and often call for different surgery. Wilms tumor is managed by pediatric specialists on protocols of its own.

Size, by contrast, tells you less than people assume. The NCI's clinical summary warns that size alone should not drive the treatment approach, because kidney cancer can spread from a tumor as small as 0.5 cm.

The numbers behind this cancer

The American Cancer Society projects 80,450 new cases of kidney and renal pelvis cancer in 2026, and 15,160 deaths, and SEER, the federal cancer statistics program, publishes them. That is 3.8% of all new cancer diagnoses. SEER's own records put the median age at diagnosis at 65.

About 66% are found while still confined to the kidney, which shapes the outlook. Five-year relative survival is 79.2% overall. By stage it is 93.6% for cancer still in the kidney, 77.6% once it has reached nearby tissue or nodes, and 20.3% once it has spread to distant organs.

These are group averages from past years. They describe populations, not people, and they do not account for your subtype, your health, or newer treatments.

What raises risk, and what to watch for

The NCI lists these risk factors for renal cell cancer: smoking tobacco, long-term misuse of pain medicines including over-the-counter ones, excess body weight, high blood pressure, a family history of renal cell cancer, and genetic conditions such as von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Warning signs include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, side pain that does not go away, loss of appetite, weight loss with no clear cause, and anemia. Visible blood in the urine is never normal, even once, even without pain. Report it the same week rather than waiting to see if it returns.

Diagnosis usually involves ultrasound, blood chemistry studies, urinalysis, CT, MRI, and sometimes a biopsy.

What to ask for

Get the exact type in writing from your pathology or radiology report, not just the phrase kidney cancer. Ask which type you have and, if it is renal cell cancer, which subtype.

Ask about genetic counseling if you were diagnosed young, if tumors appeared in both kidneys, or if close relatives have had kidney cancer. An inherited cause changes screening for you and for your family.