Kidney Cancer Health Center

Common treatment options for people with kidney cancer are surgery, and/or targeted therapy, and biological therapy, both of which use drugs to kill kidney cancer. You may receive more than one type of treatment.

Surgery

Surgery is the most common treatment for people with kidney cancer. The type of surgery depends on the size and stage of the cancer, whether you have two kidneys, and whether cancer was found in both kidneys.

You and your surgeon should talk about the types of surgery and which may be right for you:

• Removing entire kidney (radical nephrectomy). The surgeon removes the entire kidney along with the adrenal gland and some tissue around the kidney. Some lymph nodes in the area may also be removed.

There are two approaches for removing the kidney. The surgeon may remove the tumor by making a large incision into your body (open surgery), or the surgeon may remove the tumor by making small incisions (laparoscopic surgery). The surgeon sees inside your abdomen with a thin, lighted tube (a laparoscope) placed inside a small incision.

Targeted Therapy

People with kidney cancer that has spread beyond the original tumor may receive a type of drug called targeted therapy. Many kinds of targeted therapy are used for kidney cancer. This treatment may shrink a kidney tumor or slow its growth.

Usually, the targeted therapy is taken by mouth.

Biological Therapy

People with kidney cancer that has spread may receive biological therapy, a treatment that may improve the body’s natural defense (the immune system response) against cancer.

The treatments used for kidney cancer can slow the growth of tumors or shrink them. The biological therapy is injected intravenously or under the skin. This treatment may be given at the hospital or a doctor’s office.

Other drugs may be given at the same time to prevent side effects. The side effects differ with the biological therapy used and from person to person.