Kidney cancer treatment statistics vary substantially by stage, disease setting, and therapy. U.S. estimates include 80,980 new renal cell cancer cases and 14,510 deaths for 2025 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), while the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program projects 80,450 new kidney and renal pelvis cancer cases and 15,160 deaths for 2026. The figures below keep those measurement years and populations separate.
Contents
- U.S. incidence and mortality
- Who is affected
- Survival by stage
- What stage means for treatment
- Adjuvant treatment after surgery
- First-line treatment for advanced disease
- Treatment after prior therapy
U.S. incidence and mortality
The NCI estimated 80,980 new U.S. renal cell cancer cases in 2025 and 14,510 U.S. renal cell cancer deaths. These are NCI estimates for renal cell cancer, a common kidney cancer type, rather than a count of every kidney and renal pelvis cancer diagnosis. The NCI also reports that approximately 85% of renal cell cancers are adenocarcinomas. (Source: NCI, Renal Cell Cancer Treatment PDQ.)
SEER’s 2026 projections use the broader kidney and renal pelvis cancer category. SEER projected 80,450 new cases and 15,160 deaths in the United States for 2026. Kidney and renal pelvis cancer represented 3.8% of all new U.S. cancer cases in the SEER dataset.
SEER reported an age-adjusted incidence rate of 18.0 cases per 100,000 people. The male incidence rate was 24.4 per 100,000, compared with 12.3 per 100,000 among females. The age-adjusted death rate was 3.4 per 100,000; the male death rate was 5.0 per 100,000 and the female death rate was 2.1 per 100,000. These rates are population measures and do not predict an individual patient’s outcome. (Source: SEER, Cancer Stat Facts.)
Who is affected
Age and sex patterns are prominent in the SEER statistics. People ages 65–74 accounted for 30.2% of new kidney and renal pelvis cancer cases. The median age at diagnosis was 65. For deaths, ages 65–74 accounted for 29.5%, while the median age at death was 73.
SEER also reported different incidence rates among selected racial and ethnic groups of men. The rate was 37.4 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native males, 26.8 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic Black males, and 25.1 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic White males. These statistics describe group-level incidence, not treatment response or risk for a particular person.
Survival by stage
SEER reported a 79.2% five-year relative survival rate for kidney and renal pelvis cancer overall. Relative survival compares people with cancer with the expected survival of similar people in the general population; it is not the same as a guarantee of cure.
The stage at diagnosis was strongly associated with the reported five-year rate. SEER reported that 65.6% of cases were diagnosed at the local stage. The corresponding five-year relative survival rates were 93.6% for localized disease, 77.6% for regional disease, and 20.3% for distant disease. Unstaged disease had a 55.2% five-year relative survival rate.
| SEER disease category | Five-year relative survival |
|---|---|
| All stages | 79.2% |
| Localized | 93.6% |
| Regional | 77.6% |
| Distant | 20.3% |
| Unstaged | 55.2% |
The NCI reports a related estimate in its renal cell cancer treatment summary: about 75% of all renal cell cancer patients survive five years. Because the NCI and SEER figures use different disease definitions and reporting contexts, they should not be treated as interchangeable or combined.
What stage means for treatment
Surgical resection is the mainstay of kidney cancer treatment according to the NCI. The NCI also states that current treatment cures more than 50% of patients with stage I renal cell cancer. That statement applies to the stage I population described by the NCI and should not be extended to later-stage disease.
The NCI staging definitions provide useful size and spread measurements. Stage I T1 tumors are 7 centimeters or smaller and limited to the kidney. Stage I T1a tumors are 4 centimeters or smaller and limited to the kidney. Stage II T2 tumors are larger than 7 centimeters but remain limited to the kidney. Stage III T3b tumors extend into the vena cava below the diaphragm. Stage IV T4 tumors invade beyond Gerota’s fascia.
These anatomic categories help explain why treatment statistics differ by stage. A localized tumor can be treated in a setting where SEER reports a 93.6% five-year relative survival rate, whereas distant disease has a reported rate of 20.3%. Those population statistics do not identify which operation, drug, or combination is appropriate for an individual.
Adjuvant treatment after surgery
Adjuvant therapy is treatment given after the primary treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence. In an NCI-described adjuvant sunitinib trial, 615 patients were enrolled. Median disease-free survival was 6.8 years with sunitinib versus 5.6 years with placebo, with a disease-free-survival hazard ratio of 0.76. Dose reductions occurred in 34% of patients receiving sunitinib, dose interruptions in 46%, and 28% discontinued treatment.
The NCI-described KEYNOTE-564 adjuvant pembrolizumab trial enrolled 994 patients. The two-year disease-free survival rate was 77.3% with pembrolizumab versus 68.1% with placebo. At 30 months, the rates were 75.2% and 65.5%, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 32% of pembrolizumab patients, and serious adverse events occurred in 20%.
These trial outcomes measure disease-free survival, not the same endpoint as overall survival or the SEER five-year relative survival rate. Trial participants, eligibility criteria, follow-up periods, and treatment assignments also differ.
First-line treatment for advanced disease
Several NCI-described trials compared treatments for advanced renal cell cancer. In a pembrolizumab-plus-axitinib trial of 861 patients, one-year overall survival was 90% versus 78% with sunitinib. Median progression-free survival was 15.1 versus 11.1 months, and the objective response rate was 59.3% versus 35.7%. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 75.8% of patients receiving the combination.
In a pembrolizumab-plus-lenvatinib trial of 1,609 patients, the two-year overall survival rate was 79.2% versus 70.4% with sunitinib. Median progression-free survival was 23.9 versus 9.2 months, and the objective response rate was 71.0% versus 36.1%. Complete responses occurred in 16.1% of combination patients and 4.2% of sunitinib patients.
The nivolumab-plus-cabozantinib trial enrolled 651 patients. Median overall survival was 37.7 months versus 34.3 months with sunitinib. Median progression-free survival was 16.6 versus 8.3 months, and the objective response rate was 55.7% versus 27.1%. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 65% of patients receiving the combination.
The ipilimumab-plus-nivolumab trial enrolled 1,096 patients; its overall-survival analysis focused on 847 intermediate- or poor-risk patients. At 18 months, overall survival was 75% with the combination versus 60% with sunitinib, with a hazard ratio for death of 0.63. Median progression-free survival was 11.6 versus 8.4 months, and the objective response rate was 42% versus 27%. Complete responses occurred in 9% versus 1%.
Treatment after prior therapy
The NCI reported results from several studies in previously treated patients. In an 821-patient nivolumab monotherapy trial, the objective response rate was 25% versus 5% with everolimus. Median progression-free survival was 4.6 versus 4.4 months, median overall survival was 25.0 versus 19.6 months, and the hazard ratio for death was 0.73.
In an FDA-described cabozantinib-versus-everolimus trial, 330 patients were randomized to cabozantinib and 328 to everolimus. Median progression-free survival was 7.4 versus 3.8 months, median overall survival was 21.4 versus 16.5 months, and the confirmed response rate was 17% versus 3%. (Source: FDA, Cabozantinib approval.)
The NCI described a phase II study of lenvatinib plus everolimus involving 153 subjects. Median progression-free survival was 14.6 months versus 5.5 months with everolimus, and a later overall-survival measure was 25.5 versus 15.4 months. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 71% of patients in the combination trial.
The tivozanib-versus-sorafenib trial enrolled 350 previously treated patients. Median progression-free survival was 5.6 versus 3.9 months, while median overall survival was 16.4 versus 19.2 months. The objective response rate was 18% versus 8%. (Sources: NCI, Renal Cell Cancer Treatment PDQ; FDA, Tivozanib approval.)
For belzutifan, the FDA reported a progression-free-survival hazard ratio of 0.75 versus everolimus, with median progression-free survival of 5.6 months in both groups. The NCI reported an overall-survival hazard ratio of 0.88. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 61.8% of belzutifan patients and 62.5% of everolimus patients. (Sources: NCI, Renal Cell Cancer Treatment PDQ; FDA, Belzutifan approval.)
The treatment comparisons above report different endpoints, follow-up periods, and patient populations. Response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, disease-free survival, and relative survival answer different questions, so one statistic should not be used as a substitute for another when discussing kidney cancer treatment.