Kidney cancer incidence statistics show a disease concentrated in older adults, diagnosed more often in men than women, and distributed unevenly across geographic regions. In the United States, 80,450 new kidney and renal pelvis cancer cases are estimated for 2026. Worldwide, GLOBOCAN recorded 434,840 new kidney cancer cases in 2022.
Contents
- U.S. incidence at a glance
- Incidence by sex and race
- Age at diagnosis
- U.S. incidence trends and mortality
- Global kidney cancer incidence
- Global regional distribution
- How kidney cancer types affect the statistics
U.S. incidence at a glance
The SEER Cancer Stat Facts estimate 80,450 new cases of kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States in 2026. The same source estimates 15,160 deaths in 2026. Kidney and renal pelvis cancer represents 3.8% of all new U.S. cancer cases and ranks seventh among common cancers by estimated new cases in 2026.
The recent U.S. age-adjusted incidence rate is 18.0 cases per 100,000 people, based on cases diagnosed from 2019 through 2023. Age adjustment helps compare populations with different age structures, but the rate remains a population-level measure rather than an individual prediction.
The American Cancer Society reports the same 2026 projections: 80,450 kidney cancer cases and 15,160 kidney cancer deaths. These are estimates for the year, not a count of cases already observed. The ACS also describes kidney cancer as about twice as common in men as in women.
For broad context, the CDC U.S. Cancer Statistics recorded 1,851,238 new cases of all cancers in 2022. The CDC recorded 613,349 deaths from all cancers in 2023. These all-cancer totals provide context for kidney cancer’s share of the national cancer burden, but they come from different measurement years than the 2026 projections.
Incidence by sex and race
SEER reports different age-adjusted incidence rates by sex and racial and ethnic group. Across all races, the incidence rate is 24.4 per 100,000 for males and 12.3 per 100,000 for females. The group-specific rates below use the labels reported by SEER.
| Population group | Male incidence | Female incidence |
|---|---|---|
| All races | 24.4 per 100,000 | 12.3 per 100,000 |
| Hispanic | 25.5 per 100,000 | 14.9 per 100,000 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native | 37.4 per 100,000 | 20.0 per 100,000 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander | 12.7 per 100,000 | 5.9 per 100,000 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 26.8 per 100,000 | 13.3 per 100,000 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 25.1 per 100,000 | 12.0 per 100,000 |
The highest listed incidence rate is among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native males, at 37.4 per 100,000. The lowest listed rate is among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander females, at 5.9 per 100,000. These figures describe differences in population rates; they do not establish why the rates differ.
The sex pattern is consistent across every listed group: the male rate is higher than the female rate. For example, the rates are 26.8 versus 13.3 per 100,000 among non-Hispanic Black people and 25.1 versus 12.0 per 100,000 among non-Hispanic White people. The ACS describes kidney cancer overall as about twice as common in men as in women.
Age at diagnosis
Kidney and renal pelvis cancer is most frequently diagnosed at ages 65–74, and the median age at diagnosis is 65, according to SEER. The age distribution shows that most new cases occur in older adults, while cases under age 35 account for a small share.
| Age group | Share of new U.S. cases |
|---|---|
| Under 20 | 0.8% |
| 20–34 | 1.7% |
| 35–44 | 5.8% |
| 45–54 | 13.7% |
| 55–64 | 25.4% |
| 65–74 | 30.2% |
| 75–84 | 17.2% |
| Over 84 | 5.1% |
The 65–74 group accounts for 30.2% of new U.S. cases, followed by ages 55–64 at 25.4% and ages 75–84 at 17.2%. Ages 45–54 account for 13.7%, while ages 35–44 account for 5.8%. The youngest groups make up 1.7% for ages 20–34 and 0.8% for people under 20. The ACS similarly says kidney cancer is uncommon below age 45.
Age is also important when interpreting deaths. The age pattern for deaths is older than the pattern for new diagnoses: the median age at death is 73. SEER reports that ages 65–74 account for 29.5% of deaths, ages 75–84 for 27.7%, and people over 84 for 16.7%. The remaining shares are 17.9% for ages 55–64, 5.9% for ages 45–54, 1.5% for ages 35–44, 0.5% for ages 20–34 and 0.3% for people under 20.
U.S. incidence trends and mortality
SEER reports that U.S. kidney cancer incidence rates rose by an average of 0.7% per year from 2014 through 2023. This is a trend across that measurement period, not a projection of a fixed annual increase into the future.
The ACS reports a more specific trend for localized tumors: incidence rose by 1.5% per year from 2015 through 2019. Because this figure concerns localized tumors and a different period, it should not be treated as interchangeable with the SEER all-category trend.
Mortality rates have moved downward over the reported periods. SEER reports that U.S. kidney cancer death rates fell by an average of 1.1% per year from 2015 through 2024. The ACS reports a 1.6% annual decline in kidney cancer mortality from 2012 through 2021. The different percentages reflect different source periods and definitions.
The SEER age-adjusted death rate is 3.4 per 100,000 people, based on deaths from 2020 through 2024. By sex and group, the male death rates are 5.0 per 100,000 across all races, 4.7 among Hispanic people, 9.2 among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native people, 2.4 among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander people, 4.9 among non-Hispanic Black people and 5.3 among non-Hispanic White people. The corresponding female rates are 2.1, 2.0, 3.8, 1.0, 2.1 and 2.2 per 100,000.
Kidney and renal pelvis cancer is the 12th leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to SEER. The death-rate figures and the incidence figures use different measurement periods, so they should be read as separate summaries rather than as a direct case-fatality calculation.
Global kidney cancer incidence
The GLOBOCAN 2022 kidney fact sheet recorded 434,840 new kidney cancer cases worldwide in 2022. Kidney cancer ranked 14th among cancers worldwide by incidence, with a global age-standardized incidence rate of 4.4 per 100,000.
GLOBOCAN recorded 155,953 kidney cancer deaths worldwide in 2022. Kidney cancer ranked 16th among cancers by mortality, and the global age-standardized mortality rate was 1.5 per 100,000. The reported global case count exceeded the death count by 278,887 in 2022. This is a difference between two annual counts, not a count of people who survived or a survival estimate.
The global figures and U.S. figures are not identical measures. GLOBOCAN reports kidney cancer worldwide, while SEER reports kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States. The sources also use different years: GLOBOCAN’s observed counts are for 2022, while the U.S. case and death totals for 2026 are estimates.
Global regional distribution
GLOBOCAN’s 2022 regional counts show the largest number of cases in Asia and Europe. Asia accounted for 151,276 cases, or 34.8% of global incidence. Europe accounted for 145,721 cases, or 33.5%. Northern America accounted for 79,769 cases, or 18.3%.
| Region | New cases in 2022 | Share of global incidence |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 151,276 | 34.8% |
| Europe | 145,721 | 33.5% |
| Northern America | 79,769 | 18.3% |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 35,927 | 8.3% |
| Africa | 17,129 | 3.9% |
| Oceania | 5,018 | 1.2% |
Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 35,927 cases, or 8.3% of global incidence. Africa accounted for 17,129 cases, or 3.9%, and Oceania accounted for 5,018 cases, or 1.2%. These are counts and shares of reported 2022 global incidence; they are not age-adjusted regional rates.
GLOBOCAN also reports five-year prevalent cases, a different measure from new cases. Europe had 473,212 five-year prevalent kidney cancer cases, representing 34.5% of prevalence. Asia had 448,321 cases and 32.7%, Northern America had 280,473 and 20.5%, Latin America and the Caribbean had 107,409 and 7.8%, Africa had 43,425 and 3.2%, and Oceania had 17,134 and 1.3%.
How kidney cancer types affect the statistics
The ACS reports that most kidney cancers are renal cell carcinomas. It also reports that renal pelvis cancers make up 5% of kidney cancers and that Wilms tumor makes up 1%. These proportions help explain why a source may use the broader term “kidney and renal pelvis cancer” while another uses “kidney cancer.”
The statistics above should therefore be read with their source labels and definitions attached. SEER’s U.S. estimates, rates and age distributions describe kidney and renal pelvis cancer as reported in its Cancer Stat Facts. ACS projections and category percentages come from the American Cancer Society. Global counts, rankings, rates and regional distributions come from the GLOBOCAN 2022 kidney fact sheet. Keeping the measurement year, geography and cancer definition visible is essential when comparing incidence statistics.