How deadly is renal cell carcinoma?

Varies with stage: Fortunately many renal cell carcinomas are now being diagnosed at an early stage (when the tumor is small and doesn't invade any other structures) thanks to improvements in imaging (ct scan etc). If early stage, many patients do very well after the tumor is removed. However, as the stage of the tumor increases, the risk of the cancer behaving aggressively increases. So stage helps to predict.