What is the treatment for renal cell cancer?

Nephrectomy: Surgical removal of affected kidney, or sometimes partial nephrectomy if tumor is confined to one end of kidney. Some urologists use a technique known as hand assisted laparascopic nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy; this is less invasive than performing surgery entirely through a large flank or abdominal incision.

Depends on stage: If you have kidney cancer that is still within the kidney, we would usually recommend surgery. If you have kidney cancer that has spread outside the kidney, sometimes surgery would still be helpful, but most people will require systemic treatments including targeted therapy or immunotherapy. These are IV or oral medications that target specific pathways to treat kidney cancer that has spread.