Kidney cancer
Your kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped, fist-sized organs in your abdomen, and are responsible for filtering and removing wastes and extra water from the blood by creating urine. Urine travels from the renal pelvis, a hollow space within each kidney, down thin tubes (ureters) to the bladder, which then stores urine and empties it through the urethra. Kidneys also make hormones and substances to help control blood pressure and produce red blood cells.
Kidney cancer is a cancer that forms in the tissues of the kidneys. It can include renal cell carcinoma, or cancer that forms in the lining of the small tubes that filter the blood and remove waste products; renal pelvis carcinoma, where cancer forms in the center of the kidney where urine collects; or Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer that usually develops in children under the age of 5.
The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center provides multidisciplinary care for patients with all stages of kidney cancer. Our patients receive all of their care from a team of top academic physicians and health care practitioners. Our highly skilled, compassionate medical oncologists work closely with their colleagues in urologic oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology to provide each patient with accurate diagnosis and state-of-the-art, individualized treatment.