What is renal cell cancer?
Renal cell cancer (also called cancer of the kidney or renal adenocarcinoma) is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in certain tissues of the kidney. Renal cell cancer is one of the less common kinds of cancer. It occurs more often in men than in women. The kidneys are a “matched” pair of organs found on either side of the backbone. The kidneys of an adult are about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide and are shaped like a kidney bean. Inside each kidney are tiny tubules that filter and clean the blood, taking out waste products, and making urine. The urine made by the kidneys passes through a tube called a ureter into the bladder where it is held until it is passed from the body. Renal cell cancer is a cancer of the lining of the tubules in the kidney. If cancer is found in the part of the kidney that collects urine and drains it to the ureters (the renal pelvis), or is found in the ureters, refer to the PDQ patient information summary on transitional cell cancer of the
