More than 13,000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer in the UK each year. The incidence is increasing annually, mostly due to lifestyle factors, such as smoking and obesity, but in part due to better scanning facilities being able to pick up small tumours. Kidney cancer is now the seventh most common cancer in British adults; however, it is still considered to be a less common cancer, although around 4,500 people die from the disease every year. About a third all kidney cancers are diagnosed in people aged over 75 and the highest rates are seen in people aged 85-89.

This section attempts to answer some of the more common questions asked about kidney cancer. If you have any further questions about the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with kidney cancer, please do not hesitate to email us or ring our helpline.

Essential guides

We have produced a number of Essential guides to kidney cancer that go into a lot more detail about all aspects of kidney cancer, including diagnosis, staging and grading, surgery, medical treatments and rare forms of kidney cancer and how they are treated. Please see our Essential guides to kidney cancer page to read more.

Kidney Cancer Basics

The International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) has produced a Kidney Cancer Basics booklet that gives a comprehensive and easy-to-understand overview of kidney cancer, diagnosis and treatment. We hope you find this booklet useful.