Fast Facts

• RCC is among the 10 most common cancers in both men and women, with 15-25% of patients having metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.^[1]
• Risk factors include: Smoking, body weight/obesity, family history, high blood pressure.^[2]
• Around 20% to 25% of patients diagnosed have already reached the metastatic phase of disease. Once renal cell carcinoma has spread to other organs in the body, a patient’s 5-year survival estimate drops to 5-15%.^[3]
• Estimated new cases and deaths from renal cell (kidney and renal pelvis) cancer in the United States in 2014: New cases: 63,920, deaths: 13,860.^[1]
• The rate of people developing kidney cancer has been rising steadily since the late 1990s. Yet the death rates for this cancer has gone down slightly since the middle of the 1990s.^[1]
• Overall, the lifetime risk of getting kidney cancer is about 1 in 63. This risk is higher in men than in women. Average age when diagnosed is 64.^[1],[2]
• Renal cell carcinoma is one of the few cancers that has a poor response to chemotherapy. Instead, treatments include partial/full nephrectomy, embolization, targeted therapies, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy.^[3]

  [1] American Cancer Society. Detailed Guide: Kidney Cancer. (Adult) Renal Cell Carcinoma.

  [2] National Cancer Institute. Renal Cell Cancer Treatment PDQ. Available here.

  [3] News-Medical:Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.