Kidney Cancer

Clinical Description 

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer in adults. The kidneys are bean-shaped, approximately fist-size organs that are located on each side in the mid-back, just below the ribs. The kidneys filter the blood and get rid of excess water and waste in the urine.

Symptoms of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma does not always cause obvious symptoms, especially in the early stages. As a result, the cancer may not be discovered until it is advanced. Symptoms of renal cell carcinoma include:

• Blood in the urine
• Pain in the sides of the low back (the flank)
• A lump in the abdomen or side of the back
• Weight loss
• Pain in the back, side or abdomen
• Scrotal swelling (in men)

If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your healthcare provider for evaluation.

Risk Factors of Renal Cell Carcinoma

A number of environmental and clinical factors have been implicated in the etiology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). These include smoking, occupational exposure to toxic compounds, obesity, acquired cystic disease of the kidney (typically associated with dialysis), analgesic-induced kidney disease, and genetic predisposition.

Occupational exposure to toxic compounds, such as cadmium, asbestos, and petroleum by-products, has been implicated in the risk of RCC. Increased exposure to such carcinogens may be associated with mutations in genes associated with the development of RCC.

Acquired cystic disease of the kidney is a condition that is acquired in some patients receiving dialysis. The risk of RCC has been estimated to be 30 times greater in such patients.

How Renal Cell Carcinoma is Diagnosed

If you have symptoms of renal cell carcinoma, your doctor may order an imaging test such as a CT scan, MRI or ultrasound to evaluate the kidneys. In some cases, the cancer is found if one of these tests is done for another reason. If an ultrasound suggests kidney cancer, a CT scan or MRI will be performed to further evaluate the abnormality. Unlike other cancers, RCC is usually diagnosed based on the appearance of the CT scan, and biopsy is seldom necessary. The diagnosis is confirmed when the tumor or kidney is removed during surgery as part of the treatment for this disease.

Treatment Options for Renal Cell Carcinoma at Tufts Medical Center

Localized renal cell carcinoma can sometimes be treated with surgery to remove part or the entire affected kidney. The term “radical nephrectomy” refers to complete removal of the kidney and surrounding tissues. Most people can live with only one kidney.
If your kidneys do not work well, “nephron-sparing surgery” may be recommended, where only the cancerous part of the tumor is removed. If the tumor is large or if there are multiple tumors, this may not be possible.

For patients with localized RCC, further treatment after surgery is not usually needed. For those with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma, treatment with medicine may be recommended instead of or along with surgery. Advanced RCC is difficult to cure, and such patients may be presented with the option to enroll in a clinical trial.
Currently available medical treatment for advanced RCC includes targeted therapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, and immune therapy. 

• Targeted therapy is designed to slow the growth of the tumor by “targeting” one or more steps in the cancer’s growth process. Depending on you particular situation, targeted therapy may be recommended. These medicines include temsirolimus (Torisel) and everolimus (Afinitor). 
• Anti-angiogenic treatments reduce the blood supply to the tumor, thus slowing or stopping it’s growth. Immune therapy aims to trigger your own immunes system to attack and “reject”, or kill, the cancer cells. The most commonly used treatment for advance renal cell carcinoma is anti-angiogenic therapy. The most commonly used drugs are sunitinib (Sutent) or sorafenib (Nexavar). Other medicines include pazopanib (Votrient) and bevacizumab (Avastin).
• Immune therapy is reserved only for rare patients, as the drug which is used (interleukin-2) is highly toxic and requires a healthy patient and multiple admissions to the hospital for treatment.

Advanced or metastatic RCC is rarely cured, and therefore ongoing research continues in this disease to develop new and improved treatments. When available, patients are encouraged to enroll in a clinic trial.

Programs + Services


Genitourinary Oncology Program

Visit the Genitourinary Oncology Program at Tufts Medical Center which offers men comprehensive care for prostate, kidney, and testicular tumors.
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Urology Cancer Center

The Urology Cancer Center at Tufts MC provides surgical and medical management of urologic cancers including kidney, adrenal, bladder, prostate, penile and testicular cancer.
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Doctors + Care Team

Gennaro A. Carpinito, MD, FACS

Gennaro A. Carpinito, MD, FACS

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Accepting New Patients

Virtual Appointments Available

Title(s): Urologist-in-Chief, Tufts Medical Center; Chair and Charles M. Whitney Professor, Department of Urology, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Urology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6317
Fax #: 617-636-5349

Uro-oncology with special interest in kidney and prostate cancers, da Vinci Robot-assisted minimally invasive urological surgeries, ablative and reconstructive laparoscopic urological surgeries, radical nephrectomy, nephroureterectomy, partial nephrectomy, adrenalectomy, radical prostatectomy, pyeloplasty, minimally invasive endoscopic procedures and SWL (shock wave lithotripsy)

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Thomas A. DiPetrillo, MD

Thomas A. DiPetrillo, MD

Accepting New Patients

Title(s): Radiation Oncologist; Vice Chairman; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Radiation Oncology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6161
Fax #: 617-636-4513

Oncologic consultation for general radiotherapy, lung, highdose remote afterloading and intraoperative brachytherapy

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Martin Hertl, MD, PhD

Martin Hertl, MD, PhD

Accepting New Patients

Title(s): Chief, Abdominal Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Department(s): Surgery, Hepatobiliary Surgery
Appt. Phone:
Fax #:

Kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation, complex hepatobiliary surgery

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Kathryn Huber, MD, PhD

Kathryn Huber, MD, PhD

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Accepting New Patients

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Title(s): Radiation Oncologist; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Radiation Oncology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6161
Fax #: 617-636-6131

Radiotherapy for lung cancer, gastrointestinal tract cancers, breast and head and neck cancers, thoracic tumors

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Tony Luongo, MD

Tony Luongo, MD

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Accepting New Patients

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Title(s): Urologist; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Urology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6317
Fax #: 617-636-5349

Uro-oncology with special interest in bladder cancer, stone disease, general urology

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Paul Mathew, MD

Paul Mathew, MD

Accepting New Patients

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Title(s): Hematologist/Oncologist; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Medicine, Hematology/Oncology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6227
Fax #: 617-636-8538

Clinical care of genitourinary cancers with a special emphasis on prostate cancer, modeling bone metastases and experimental therapeutics in prostate cancer and other genitourinary malignancies

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Stephen P. Naber, MD, PhD

Stephen P. Naber, MD, PhD

Title(s): Senior Pathologist; Medical Director, Biorepository; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5829
Fax #: 617-636-8849

General surgical pathology, breast pathology, oncologic pathology

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