Kidney and renal pelvis cancer incidence in the United States was 16.73 cases per 100,000 people in 2023, while the death rate was 3.39 per 100,000. The same SEER series reports 82.79% five-year relative survival for 2023. For 2026, the American Cancer Society estimates 80,450 new U.S. kidney cancer cases and 15,160 deaths.
Kidney cancer statistics at a glance
- The 2026 American Cancer Society estimate is 80,450 new cases and 15,160 deaths in the United States.
- The 2026 estimate includes 50,770 new cases among men and 29,680 among women.
- Estimated 2026 deaths include 10,200 men and 4,960 women.
- Lifetime risk is about 1.8% for men and women combined.
- An estimated 676,631 people were living with kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States in 2022.
- Kidney and renal pelvis cancer represented 3.8% of all new cancer cases and 2.4% of all cancer deaths in the 2026 estimate.
The 2026 figures are estimates, not a count of cases or deaths already observed in that year. The historical incidence, death-rate, and survival figures below come from SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer. The 2026 case and death projections come from the American Cancer Society key statistics for kidney cancer.
Table of contents
- Current burden and projected 2026 numbers
- Incidence over time
- Death rates over time
- Five-year relative survival
- Men, women, and lifetime risk
- People living with kidney cancer
Current burden and projected 2026 numbers
The American Cancer Society’s 2026 estimate places the U.S. kidney cancer burden at 80,450 new cases and 15,160 deaths. The estimate is divided by sex: 50,770 new cases in men and 29,680 in women, alongside 10,200 deaths in men and 4,960 in women. These figures describe the expected U.S. burden for 2026 and should not be read as a measurement of every individual’s risk.
SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer reports that kidney and renal pelvis cancer accounted for 3.8% of all new cancer cases in the 2026 estimate and 2.4% of all cancer deaths. Those percentages put kidney cancer in the wider context of cancer nationally, while the case and death totals show the estimated absolute burden.
The latest historical observations in the supplied SEER series are for 2023. In that year, incidence was 16.73 per 100,000 people, the death rate was 3.39 per 100,000, and five-year relative survival was 82.79%. Because the 2026 ACS values are forecasts and the 2023 SEER values are historical measurements, they are not interchangeable time points.
Incidence over time
SEER reports an incidence rate of 6.83 per 100,000 people in 1975. The rate was 8.09 in 1976, 7.71 in 1977, 7.64 in 1978, 7.45 in 1979, and 7.91 in 1980. It then reached 8.33 in 1981, 8.15 in 1982, 8.50 in 1983, and 8.80 in 1984.
The rate continued upward through the latter half of the 1980s: 8.43 per 100,000 in 1985, 9.19 in 1986, 9.56 in 1987, 9.73 in 1988, and 10.08 in 1989. Incidence was 10.20 in 1990 and 10.26 in 1991, followed by 10.33 in 1992, 10.45 in 1993, 10.52 in 1994, and 10.62 in 1995.
In the late 1990s, the SEER series records 10.85 cases per 100,000 in 1996, 10.41 in 1997, 11.31 in 1998, and 11.14 in 1999. Incidence was 12.04 in 2000, 12.26 in 2001, 12.38 in 2002, and 13.33 in 2003. It reached 13.35 in 2004 and 13.79 in 2005.
The rate was 14.41 per 100,000 in 2006, 15.26 in 2007, and 15.42 in 2008. It was 14.90 in 2009 and 14.55 in 2010, then 15.12 in 2011, 15.20 in 2012, 15.18 in 2013, and 15.20 in 2014. The series records 16.06 in 2015, 16.07 in 2016, 16.15 in 2017, and 16.46 in 2018.
Incidence was 16.74 per 100,000 in 2019, followed by 14.94 in 2020, 16.43 in 2021, 15.70 in 2022, and 16.73 in 2023. The year-to-year values vary, so a single annual figure should not be treated as a complete trend by itself.
Death rates over time
The SEER death rate was 3.61 per 100,000 people in 1975 and 1976. It was 3.68 in 1977, 3.69 in 1978, 3.63 in 1979, and 3.68 in 1980. The rate rose to 3.73 in 1981, 3.85 in 1982, 3.85 in 1983, and 3.90 in 1984.
In the next five years, the reported death rates were 3.96 per 100,000 in 1985, 4.05 in 1986, 4.14 in 1987, 4.03 in 1988, and 4.16 in 1989. The rate was 4.19 in 1990, 4.30 in 1991, 4.29 in 1992, 4.16 in 1993, and 4.27 in 1994. It reached 4.34 in 1995.
SEER reports a death rate of 4.27 per 100,000 in 1996 and 1997, 4.26 in 1998, 4.06 in 1999, and 4.22 in 2000. The rate was 4.27 in 2001, 4.23 in 2002, 4.20 in 2003, and 4.13 in 2004 and 2005. It was 4.00 in 2006, 4.02 in 2007, and 3.99 in 2008.
The rate was 3.93 per 100,000 in both 2009 and 2010, 3.95 in 2011, and 3.85 in 2012. SEER records 3.89 in 2013, 3.79 in 2014, 3.87 in 2015, and 3.65 in 2016. It was 3.61 in 2017, 3.59 in 2018, 3.48 in 2019, 3.52 in 2020, 3.40 in 2021, 3.41 in 2022, and 3.39 in 2023.
Selected historical comparison
| Year | Incidence per 100,000 | Death rate per 100,000 | Five-year relative survival |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 6.83 | 3.61 | 54.61% |
| 1990 | 10.20 | 4.19 | 59.17% |
| 2005 | 13.79 | 4.13 | 74.93% |
| 2019 | 16.74 | 3.48 | 80.97% |
| 2023 | 16.73 | 3.39 | 82.79% |
All values in this table are from SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer. The table is a selection of years, not a replacement for the full annual series.
Five-year relative survival
SEER reports five-year relative survival of 54.61% for 1975, 52.94% for 1976, 48.28% for 1977, 54.35% for 1978, and 51.10% for 1979. The figures were 55.88% in 1980, 48.53% in 1981, 50.82% in 1982, 54.11% in 1983, and 55.02% in 1984.
Survival was 55.60% in 1985, 53.09% in 1986, 58.46% in 1987, 57.00% in 1988, and 55.49% in 1989. SEER records 59.17% in 1990, 60.44% in 1991, 60.58% in 1992, 60.22% in 1993, and 62.89% in 1994. The 1995 figure was 61.03%.
The reported five-year relative survival was 62.10% in 1996, 61.70% in 1997, 63.48% in 1998, and 62.76% in 1999. It was 66.36% in 2000, 66.99% in 2001, 69.00% in 2002, 68.53% in 2003, 71.28% in 2004, and 74.93% in 2005.
SEER reports 73.84% in 2006, 75.07% in 2007, 75.37% in 2008, 76.56% in 2009, and 74.92% in 2010. The series records 73.49% in 2011, 77.61% in 2012, 77.31% in 2013, 77.14% in 2014, and 78.56% in 2015. Survival was 79.45% in 2016, 78.25% in 2017, 81.47% in 2018, 80.97% in 2019, 81.44% in 2020, 81.90% in 2021, 82.35% in 2022, and 82.79% in 2023.
Five-year relative survival is a population statistic. It does not predict exactly what will happen to a particular person, and the year labels in this series should remain attached to their reported measurements.
Men, women, and lifetime risk
For 2026, the American Cancer Society estimates 50,770 new kidney cancer cases in men and 29,680 in women. Its death estimate is 10,200 men and 4,960 women. These are projected U.S. counts for 2026, not rates and not individual probabilities.
SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer reports a combined lifetime risk of about 1.8% for men and women. A combined figure does not provide separate lifetime risks by sex, so it should not be converted into separate values.
The 2026 estimates also provide a population-level context: kidney and renal pelvis cancer represents 3.8% of all new cancer cases and 2.4% of all cancer deaths in that estimate. Those percentages describe the share of the overall U.S. cancer totals used in the estimate.
People living with kidney cancer
SEER estimates that 676,631 people were living with kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States in 2022. This prevalence figure is tied to 2022 and is distinct from both the annual incidence rate and the annual death rate.
Taken together, the measures describe different parts of the U.S. picture: incidence counts or rates new diagnoses, death rates measure deaths in the population, five-year relative survival compares observed survival with expected survival in a broader population, and prevalence counts people living with the cancer. The 2022 prevalence estimate, 2023 historical rates and survival figure, and 2026 ACS projections therefore answer different statistical questions and should be read with their measurement years intact.