The information on this page was reviewed and approved by
Maurie Markman, MD, President, Medicine & Science at CTCA.
This page was updated on April 2, 2021.
We target kidney tumors with a variety treatments and technologies. Our kidney cancer program offers radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy and several other treatment options. Your multidisciplinary team of kidney cancer experts will answer your questions and recommend treatment options based on your unique diagnosis and needs. Treatment options for kidney cancer may include:
Surgery is the first-line treatment for most renal cell carcinoma patients at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA). Depending on the type and stage of the disease, we may perform a variety of procedures. We may also remove nearby fatty tissue to test for the presence of cancer. If kidney cancer has metastasized, your treatment team may combine surgery with targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Your team of doctors will assess the various aspects of your disease and recommend a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs. Examples of surgical procedures used to treat kidney cancer include:
Chemotherapy may be recommended for patients diagnosed with renal sarcoma, which is an extremely rare form of kidney cancer.
Interventional radiology allows doctors to visualize tumors in the kidneys and perform real-time image-guided interventional procedures. NanoKnife®, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure, may be an option for some kidney cancer patients with a tumor that is considered inoperable. The NanoKnife system is designed to help to spare normal adjacent tissues, and reduce damage to surrounding healthy cell tissue, blood vessels and other important structures.
Targeted therapy is designed to identify receptors and proteins unique to specific cancer cells. Once attached to the targeted cancer cells, these drugs kill the cells or help other therapies, such as chemotherapy, work better. Among the drugs used in targeted therapy are so-called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which target specific enzymes called protein kinases that help regulate cell growth. They also may inhibit new blood supplies that help the cancer survive, causing the cancer cells to die.
Immunotherapy is an innovative treatment option for advanced cancers, including kidney cancer that has metastasized. We use two types of immunotherapy to treat kidney cancer:
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