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Kidney cancer is usually defined as any cancer that is determined to have arisen from the kidney. It usually does not include metastatic cancer of the kidney, i.e. cancer that arose outside of the kidney and has spread to it.
The two most common types of kidney cancer, reflecting their location within the kidney, are renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) of the renal pelvis.

The distinction between these two types (RCC and UCC) is important because their prognosis, staging, and management, i.e. treatment (e.g. surgery, chemotherapy etc.), is different.
Location within the kidney
Kidney cancer originate in the kidney in two principal locations: the renal tubule and the renal pelvis. Most cancers in the renal tubule are renal cell carcinoma and clear cell adenocarcinoma. Most cancers in the renal pelvis are transitional cell carcinoma.
Signs and symptoms
Common signs and symptoms of a kidney cancer include, in order of prevalence: palpable mass in the abdomen, hematuria, and hydronephrosis. However there may also be no signs or symptoms. A palpable mass is by far the most common sign.The mass typically presents first in the anterior lumbar region, between the margins of the ribs and the crista ilii; it then grows forward to the umbilicus, upwards into the hypochondrium, and downwards into the iliac and inguinal regions. In extreme cases it fills the entire belly. The colon, and sometimes a portion of the small intestines, lies in front of it. This position of the colon furnishes an important diagnostic mark of all kidney cancers.
Epidemiology
Around 208,500 new cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed in the world each year, accounting for just under 2% of all cancers. The highest rates are recorded in Northern America and the lowest rates in Asian and African regions.

In the United States in 2008, these two types together are estimated to cause 54,390 new cases and 13,010 deaths.

2005. The most recent estimates of incidence of kidney cancer suggest that there are 63,300 new cases annually in the EU25. In Europe, kidney cancer accounts for nearly 3% of all cancer cases.

In the UK kidney cancer is the eighth most common cancer in men, with 4,622 new cases diagnosed in 2005. This compares to 2,758 new cases of kidney cancer in women, giving a male:female ratio of 1.5:1. In women it is the fourteenth most common cancer. Male kidney cancer incidence rates increased by more than 85% from 7.1 per 100,000 in 1975 to 13.4 per 100,000 in 2005. In women the rates have more than doubled over the same period from 3.2 to 6.6 per 100,000. Most of the increase has occurred in older men and women, with rates more than doubling between 1975 and 2005 for men in their 70s and early 80 and women aged 65 and over.Well over 50% of those diagnosed with kidney cancer in Britain will die as a result of the disease.

The incidence of kidney cancer is increasing also in the United States, and this increase is thought to be real, at least in part, not due only to changes in diagnostic practices.

Some types of kidney cancer have a known hereditary or familial risk, and to date five hereditary syndromes have been associated with renal cell carcinoma.
In children
The majority of kidney cancers reported in children are Wilms' tumors. One study of 92 children with kidney masses reported 68 Wilms' tumor, 5 congenital mesoblastic nephroma, 4 clear cell sarcoma, 4 neuroblastoma, 4 renal cell carcinoma, 2 lymphoma, 2 angiomyolipoma, 1 teratoma, 1 hemangioma, and 1 renal epithelial tumor.