Kidney cancer screening is not recommended as a routine test for people at average risk. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says there is no screening test recommended to diagnose kidney cancer early in average-risk people. The statistics below therefore focus on the difference between population-level disease burden and the more targeted surveillance that may be considered for people with hereditary risk.
Contents
- Screening and hereditary risk
- How common kidney cancer is
- Stage and five-year survival
- Age and sex patterns
- Incidence by sex and racial or ethnic group
- Trends, deaths, and people living with cancer
Screening and hereditary risk
For average-risk adults, the most important screening statistic is also the one that is easiest to overlook: there is no recommended screening test for early kidney cancer detection. This is the position described by the NCI in Advances in Kidney Cancer Research. A lack of routine screening does not mean kidney cancer is unimportant; it means the supplied NCI material does not identify a population-wide test recommended for people without a high-risk condition.
The approach can be different for people whose family history or inherited condition places them at high risk for kidney tumors. The NCI reports that genetic counseling and blood tests, sometimes called liquid biopsy tests, may be offered to people with hereditary conditions that increase kidney-tumor risk. These are risk-directed options, not statistics supporting routine screening for everyone.
Hereditary kidney cancer represents 5% to 8% of all kidney cancers, according to the NCI’s Hereditary Kidney Cancer Syndromes. That means the hereditary group is a minority of all cases, while still being clinically important because some syndromes carry substantial cumulative tumor risks.
| Hereditary condition | Cumulative kidney-tumor risk |
|---|---|
| Von Hippel-Lindau disease | 24%–45% |
| Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer | Up to 32% |
| Hereditary papillary renal carcinoma | Approaching 100% |
| Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome | 15%–30% |
These syndrome-specific figures come from the NCI’s Genetics of Renal Cell Carcinoma. They are cumulative risks for the named inherited conditions, not the probability that an average-risk person will develop kidney cancer. The hereditary papillary renal carcinoma estimate is described as approaching 100%, while hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer is described as reaching up to 32%.
How common kidney cancer is
SEER Cancer Stat Facts estimates 80,450 new cases of kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States in 2026. The same source estimates 15,160 deaths from the disease in 2026. These are estimates for the calendar year, not a completed count of cases or deaths already observed.
Kidney and renal pelvis cancer is estimated to represent 3.8% of all new cancer cases in the United States in 2026 and 2.4% of all cancer deaths. SEER also ranks it as the 12th leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Together, these measures describe kidney and renal pelvis cancer as a meaningful part of the national cancer burden, even though there is no average-risk screening program cited by the NCI material above.
The NCI’s Genetics of Renal Cell Carcinoma gives a nearby but different estimate for 2025: about 80,980 new cases of kidney cancer and renal pelvis cancer and an estimated 14,510 deaths in the United States. It also states that kidney cancer and renal pelvis cancer account for about 3.97% of all adult malignancies. Because these figures refer to a different year and source, they should not be treated as a single-year revision of the SEER 2026 estimates.
SEER reports an age-adjusted incidence rate of 18.0 cases per 100,000 people per year, based on 2019–2023 data. Its age-adjusted death rate is 3.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year, based on 2020–2024 data. Age adjustment helps compare rates across populations with different age structures; these rates are not the same as an individual’s personal risk.
SEER estimates that about 1.8% of men and women will be diagnosed with kidney and renal pelvis cancer at some point in their lifetime. In 2023, an estimated 687,999 people were living with kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States. The living-population figure includes people at different points after diagnosis and should not be read as the number of new cases in one year.
Stage and five-year survival
Stage at diagnosis is strongly associated with the five-year relative survival statistics reported by SEER. The following figures are based on kidney and renal pelvis cancer data; survival is relative survival, not a guarantee for an individual patient.
| SEER stage | Share of cases | Five-year relative survival |
|---|---|---|
| Localized | 66% | 93.6% |
| Regional | 17% | 77.6% |
| Distant | 15% | 20.3% |
| Unknown stage | 3% | 55.2% |
Localized disease accounts for 66% of cases, and its five-year relative survival is 93.6%. Regional disease accounts for 17% of cases, with a five-year relative survival of 77.6%. Distant disease accounts for 15% of cases, and its five-year relative survival is 20.3%. For the 3% of cases with unknown stage, SEER reports a five-year relative survival of 55.2%.
Across all stages combined, SEER reports a five-year relative survival of 79.2%, based on data from 2016–2022. The all-stage number should be kept separate from the stage-specific figures because it combines people with localized, regional, distant, and unknown-stage disease. It also reflects the stated 2016–2022 measurement period rather than the 2026 incidence estimates.
These figures help explain why detection timing matters without proving that a particular screening strategy improves survival. The supplied NCI screening information says there is no recommended screening test for average-risk people. The survival data instead show the different outcomes associated with the stage categories recorded at diagnosis.
Age and sex patterns
Kidney and renal pelvis cancer is concentrated in older age groups in SEER’s case distribution. People younger than 20 account for 0.8% of cases, while ages 20–34 account for 1.7%. Ages 35–44 account for 5.8%, and ages 45–54 account for 13.7%.
The largest reported group is ages 65–74, which accounts for 30.2% of cases. Ages 55–64 account for 25.4%, and ages 75–84 account for 17.2%. People older than 84 account for 5.1% of cases. The median age at diagnosis is 65.
| Age group | Share of kidney and renal pelvis cancer cases |
|---|---|
| Younger than 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% |
| Older than 84 | 5.1% |
The NCI reports a male-to-female ratio of 1.9:1 for renal cell carcinoma in Genetics of Renal Cell Carcinoma. SEER’s all-races-combined incidence rates are 24.4 per 100,000 men per year and 12.3 per 100,000 women per year. These are population rates, not a measure of how a tumor behaves in a particular person.
Incidence by sex and racial or ethnic group
SEER reports different age-adjusted incidence rates by sex and racial or ethnic group. Among men, the reported rate is 25.5 per 100,000 per year for Hispanic people, 37.4 for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native people, 12.7 for non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander people, 26.8 for non-Hispanic Black people, and 25.1 for non-Hispanic White people.
Among women, the reported rate is 14.9 per 100,000 per year for Hispanic people, 20.0 for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native people, 5.9 for non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander people, 13.3 for non-Hispanic Black people, and 12.0 for non-Hispanic White people.
| Group | Male incidence rate | Female incidence rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 25.5 | 14.9 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native | 37.4 | 20.0 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander | 12.7 | 5.9 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 26.8 | 13.3 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 25.1 | 12.0 |
All rates in this comparison are per 100,000 people per year. The supplied SEER figures describe incidence patterns; they do not by themselves explain why rates differ between groups, and they should not be used to infer an individual’s diagnosis or screening need.
Trends, deaths, and people living with cancer
SEER reports that age-adjusted kidney and renal pelvis cancer incidence rose by an average of 0.7% per year from 2014 through 2023. Over a different period, 2015 through 2024, age-adjusted death rates fell by an average of 1.1% per year. The periods are not identical, so the two trend measures should be read separately.
The incidence trend describes the rate of new diagnoses over time, while the death trend describes the rate of deaths. Neither trend is a direct measure of screening effectiveness. The provided NCI information does not state that routine screening for average-risk adults is recommended, and the supplied trend figures do not identify a cause for either increase or decrease.
The estimate of 687,999 people living with kidney and renal pelvis cancer in 2023 adds a prevalence perspective to annual incidence and mortality. It reflects the number living with a current or previous diagnosis in the United States, rather than only people newly diagnosed in 2023. Read alongside the 79.2% five-year relative survival reported by SEER for 2016–2022, it underscores that kidney cancer statistics describe several different populations and time windows.
For readers considering whether a screening test is appropriate, the central distinction is risk level. Average-risk people do not have a recommended early-detection screening test in the cited NCI material. People with hereditary conditions that increase kidney-tumor risk may instead be offered genetic counseling and blood tests, sometimes called liquid biopsy tests. The hereditary-risk figures above can help explain why that targeted discussion may be relevant, but they do not replace individualized medical advice.