Kidney cancer survival varies substantially by stage at diagnosis, age, and population. In U.S. SEER data, the 5-year relative survival rate for kidney and renal pelvis cancer is 79.2% overall, rising to 93.6% for localized disease and falling to 20.3% when cancer is distant at diagnosis. The figures below also show how survival differs in England and Northern Ireland.
Contents
- U.S. survival by stage
- England survival statistics
- Northern Ireland survival by age and stage
- U.S. incidence and diagnosis patterns
- Deaths, age, and sex
- How survival and rates are changing
U.S. survival by stage
The SEER Stat Facts figures describe 5-year relative survival for kidney and renal pelvis cancer in the United States. Relative survival compares people with cancer with people in the general population, so it is not the same as an individual’s exact chance of living for five years. The figures are population estimates and cannot predict one person’s outcome.
The stage breakdown is:
| SEER stage at diagnosis | 5-year relative survival |
|---|---|
| Localized | 93.6% |
| Regional | 77.6% |
| Distant | 20.3% |
| Unstaged | 55.2% |
| All stages combined | 79.2% |
Localized kidney and renal pelvis cancer has a 93.6% 5-year relative survival rate in the SEER Stat Facts data. Regional disease has a 77.6% rate. For distant disease, the rate is 20.3%. Cancer recorded without a stage has a 55.2% rate. The all-stage figure is 79.2%.
Stage distribution helps put the overall number in context. SEER reports that 65.6% of cases are diagnosed at the local stage, 17% at the regional stage, 15% at the distant stage, and 3% are unstaged. These percentages describe diagnosis patterns, while the survival percentages describe outcomes associated with each recorded stage; they should not be treated as a forecast for a newly diagnosed individual.
England survival statistics
Cancer Research UK reports kidney cancer survival for England using different measures and population coverage from the U.S. SEER figures. Around 80% of people with kidney cancer in England survive for 1 year or more. More than 65% survive for 5 years or more, and more than 50% survive for 10 years or more.
Among people in England who survive kidney cancer for at least 1 year, more than 80% survive for at least 5 years. This conditional measure is different from survival measured from the date of diagnosis for the whole patient group.
Cancer Research UK also reports approximately 5-year survival by stage in England:
| England stage | Approximate 5-year survival |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Around 90% |
| Stage 2 | Around 75% |
| Stage 3 | Around 75% |
| Stage 4 | Around 15% |
The England stage figures show the same broad pattern as the U.S. estimates: earlier-stage disease has substantially higher survival than disease diagnosed after distant spread. The England figures are approximate and should not be directly combined with the SEER percentages, because the sources use different countries, reporting systems, periods, and statistical definitions.
Northern Ireland survival by age and stage
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry Kidney Cancer Report gives survival estimates for patients diagnosed in 2012–2016, unless a different period is stated. For patients aged 15 to 54, 1-year survival was 91.3% and 5-year survival was 81.5%. For ages 55 to 64, the corresponding figures were 88.6% and 74.9%.
For patients aged 65 to 74, 1-year survival was 81.8% and 5-year survival was 67.7%. For patients aged 75 to 99, 1-year survival was 73.7% and 5-year survival was 57.7%. These figures describe the Northern Ireland population in the stated diagnosis period and should not be used as age-specific predictions for every patient.
The same report gives stage-specific results for Northern Ireland:
| Stage | 1-year survival | 5-year survival |
|---|---|---|
| I | 96.8% | 90.5% |
| II | 96.0% | 81.4% |
| III | 95.7% | 74.5% |
| IV | 38.5% | 12.5% |
| Unknown stage | 68.4% | 55.6% |
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry reports 96.8% 1-year and 90.5% 5-year survival for stage I kidney cancer. Stage II survival was 96.0% at 1 year and 81.4% at 5 years. Stage III survival was 95.7% and 74.5%, respectively. Stage IV survival was 38.5% at 1 year and 12.5% at 5 years. Unknown-stage disease had 68.4% 1-year and 55.6% 5-year survival.
Longer-term trends in Northern Ireland also show improvement. One-year age-standardised net survival increased from 63.9% in 1997–2001 to 81.4% in 2017–2021. Over the earlier comparison of 1997–2001 with 2017–2021, male 1-year survival increased from 63.5% to 80.7%, while female 1-year survival increased from 65.0% to 82.8%.
Five-year age-standardised net survival increased from 58.2% in 2007–2011 to 69.1% in 2012–2016. In a longer comparison, it increased from 46.9% in 1997–2001 to 69.1% in 2012–2016. Female 5-year survival increased from 57.2% to 73.9% in the first comparison, and from 48.4% to 73.9% in the longer comparison. Male 5-year survival increased from 46.2% to 65.9% in the longer comparison.
U.S. incidence and diagnosis patterns
SEER Stat Facts estimates 80,450 new U.S. kidney and renal pelvis cancer cases in 2026, ranking the cancer seventh among estimated new U.S. cancers. The estimate represents 3.8% of all new U.S. cancer cases. SEER estimates 15,160 U.S. deaths from kidney and renal pelvis cancer in 2026. These are estimates for 2026, not counts of completed future events.
The age-adjusted incidence rate is 18.0 cases per 100,000 men and women per year, based on cases from 2019–2023. The reported male incidence rate is 24.4 per 100,000, compared with 12.3 per 100,000 for females.
SEER reports the following sex- and race or ethnicity-specific incidence rates per 100,000:
- Male Hispanic: 25.5
- Male non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native: 37.4
- Male non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander: 12.7
- Male non-Hispanic Black: 26.8
- Male non-Hispanic White: 25.1
- Female Hispanic: 14.9
- Female non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native: 20.0
- Female non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander: 5.9
- Female non-Hispanic Black: 13.3
- Female non-Hispanic White: 12.0
These are incidence rates, not survival rates. They also describe population groups as categorized in the SEER reporting, and they do not explain why rates differ between groups.
Age at diagnosis is concentrated in older adulthood. People younger than 20 account for 0.8% of new cases; ages 20–34 account for 1.7%; ages 35–44, 5.8%; ages 45–54, 13.7%; ages 55–64, 25.4%; ages 65–74, 30.2%; ages 75–84, 17.2%; and people older than 84, 5.1%. The median age at diagnosis is 65.
Deaths, age, and sex
The SEER Stat Facts death rate for kidney and renal pelvis cancer is 3.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year. The male death rate is 5.0 per 100,000, and the female death rate is 2.1 per 100,000.
Reported sex- and race or ethnicity-specific death rates per 100,000 are 4.7 for Hispanic males, 9.2 for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native males, 2.4 for non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander males, 4.9 for non-Hispanic Black males, and 5.3 for non-Hispanic White males. For females, the corresponding rates are 2.0, 3.8, 1.0, 2.1, and 2.2 per 100,000.
The age distribution of kidney and renal pelvis cancer deaths differs from the distribution of new diagnoses. Deaths among people younger than 20 account for 0.3%; ages 20–34, 0.5%; ages 35–44, 1.5%; ages 45–54, 5.9%; ages 55–64, 17.9%; ages 65–74, 29.5%; ages 75–84, 27.7%; and people older than 84, 16.7%. The median age at death is 73.
How survival and rates are changing
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 2015 through 2024, the age-adjusted death rate fell by an average of 1.1% per year. These are average annual changes across the stated periods, not a guarantee that the rate moved by exactly the same amount every year.
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry trend figures likewise show higher reported survival in later periods than in earlier periods. One-year age-standardised net survival reached 81.4% in 2017–2021, compared with 63.9% in 1997–2001. Five-year age-standardised net survival was 69.1% in 2012–2016, compared with 58.2% in 2007–2011 and 46.9% in 1997–2001 in the longer comparison.
Together, these statistics show why a single kidney cancer survival number can be misleading. Stage at diagnosis, age, country or region, diagnosis period, and the definition of survival all affect the result. A population estimate can describe patterns across thousands of people, but an oncology team must interpret an individual diagnosis using its specific stage, tumor characteristics, treatment options, and health history.