Kidney Cancer

In 2008, an estimated 54,390 Americans were diagnosed with kidney cancer and 13,010 died of the disease in the United States. 1 Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) comprises approximately 2% of all malignancies, with a median age at diagnosis of 65 years. The rate of RCC has increased 2% per year for the past 65 years. The reason for this increase is unknown. Approximately 90% of renal tumors are RCC, and 85% of these are clear cell tumors. 2 Other, less-common cell types include papillary, chromophobe, and Bellini (collecting) duct tumors. Collecting duct carcinoma comprises fewer than 1% of all cases. Medullary renal carcinoma is a variant of collecting duct renal carcinoma and was initially described as occurring in patients who are sickle cell-trait positive.