|  | Cancer | Other Cancers

Malignant Kidney Tumor Prognosis

A malignant kidney tumor indicates kidney cancer. Your prognosis will depend on several factors, the most important being the stage of the cancer. Several other factors will influence prognosis as well.

  1. Considerations About Statistics

    • Survival statistics are one tool used to determine prognosis. The most common are the five-year survival rates, which track the number of patients with a particular type and stage of cancer still alive after five years.

    Stage 1

    • Stage 1 indicates the cancer is limited to the kidney and is less than 7 cm across. The five-year survival is 96 percent.

    Stage 2

    • Stage 2 indicates the cancer is still limited to the kidney but is bigger than 7 cm across. The five-year survival is 82 percent.

    Stage 3

    • Stage 3 indicates two different scenarios. In the first instance, the cancer has moved beyond the kidney to the adrenal gland, fatty tissue surrounding the kidney, the renal vein and/or the vein connecting the kidney and heart. It has not spread past the Gerota’s fascia, an envelope of tissue that surrounds the kidney, or to any lymph nodes. The second instance indicates the tumor has not moved past the Gerota’s fascia but cells have spread to one or more close lymph nodes. The five-year survival is 63 percent.

    Stage 4

    • Stage 4 kidney cancer includes cancers that have moved beyond the Gerota’s fascia and one neighboring lymph node only, cancer that has invaded more than one nearby node but not distant ones and cancers that have spread to distant lymph nodes or other organs. The five-year survival is 23 percent.

Other Cancers - Related Articles