A Snapshot of Kidney Cancer

Incidence and Mortality

Kidney cancer incidence has been increasing steadily for the past 65 years. The increase in incidence since the 1990s reflects a rapid increase in local-stage disease that has been attributed in part to incidental diagnosis during abdominal imaging and may not represent a true increase in cancer occurrence. The overall mortality rate from kidney cancer remained relatively steady over much of the past two decades but recently has begun to decrease. Kidney cancer incidence and mortality rates are more than twice as high in men as in women.

The main risk factors for kidney cancer are smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, misuse of certain pain medicines for an extended period of time, and having certain inherited conditions. There are no recommended screening tests for kidney cancer. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can be used to look for kidney cancer in people with genetic conditions that place them at high risk. Standard treatments for kidney cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapy, and targeted therapy.

It is estimated that approximately $3.8 billion¹ is spent in the United States each year on kidney cancer treatment.

Trends in NCI Funding for Kidney Cancer Research

The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) investment² in kidney cancer research increased from $31.4 million in fiscal year (FY) 2007 to $46.2 million in FY 2011. In addition to this funding, NCI supported $7.6 million in FY 2009 and 2010 in kidney cancer research using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)³.

Examples of NCI Activities Relevant to Kidney Cancer

• The Urologic Oncology Branch conducts basic and clinical research on the detection, prevention, and treatment of genitourinary cancers. The branch is focused on studying genes involved in the initiation and progression of kidney and prostate cancers.
• NCI's Genitourinary Malignancies Center of Excellence encourages collaboration between scientists studying genitourinary cancers, promotes opportunities for research, leverages research tools and resources, and trains young investigators.
• NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics is conducting the Kidney Cancer Study in Chicago and Detroit to elucidate the reasons for higher incidence of the disease among African Americans.
• The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project is systematically identifying the major genomic changes involved in more than 20 cancers using state-of-the-art genomic analysis technologies. TCGA researchers hope to identify patterns of genomic change that divide kidney cancer into subgroups and genomic differences that distinguish tumors across gender, race, and ethnicity as well as to investigate patterns of genomic changes that relate to tumor recurrence after therapy.
• NCI supports the Phase III Randomized Study of Everolimus with Versus without Bevacizumab in Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma that Progressed after First-line Treatment with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, a clinical trial that will determine whether using two targeted therapies in combination will extend survival in patients whose tumors are resistant to other targeted therapies.
• The Phase I Study of Intravenous Recombinant Human IL-15 in Adults with Refractory Metastatic Malignant Melanoma and Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer is a first-in-humans study of a promising immunotherapy agent called interleukin-15 (IL-15) that was developed and produced through NCI's Developmental Therapeutics Program.

Selected Advances in Kidney Cancer Research

• Analysis of data pooled from two large prospective studies showed an association between long-term use of certain painkillers and increased risk of kidney cancer. Published September 2011. [PubMed Abstract]
• Identification of a unique metabolic profile of a rare, aggressive form of kidney cancer may provide insight into fundamental aspects of tumor development and could lead to the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics for tumors with similar metabolic alterations. Published September 2011. [PubMed Abstract]
• An integrated genome-wide analysis identified genomic differences between two distinct subgroups of the most common form of kidney cancer and two potential therapeutic targets. Published November 2011. [PubMed Abstract]
• Using kidney cancer tissue samples and cell lines, researchers identified a microRNA molecule that suppresses cell growth, invasion, and migration in one form of kidney cancer. Published December 2011. [PubMed Abstract]
• See this PubMed list of selected free full-text journal articles on NCI-supported research relevant to kidney cancer. You can also search PubMed for additional scientific articles.

• ¹ Cancer Trends Progress Report, in 2010 dollars.
• ² The estimated NCI investment is based on funding associated with a broad range of peer-reviewed scientific activities. For additional information on research planning and budgeting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), see About NIH.
• ³ For more information regarding ARRA funding at NCI, see Recovery Act Funding at NCI.
• ⁴ Scientific Area Codes
• ⁵ NCI Funded Research Portfolio