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Kidney Cancer Survival Rates
The survival raged of kidney cancer varies depending on the size of the
tumor, whether it is confined to the kidney or not, and the presence or absence of
metastatic spread. The Furhman grading, which measures the aggressiveness of the tumor,
may also affect survival, though the data is not as strong to support this.
The five-year survival rate is around 90-95% for tumors less than 4 cm. For larger tumors
confined to the kidney without venous invasion, survival is still relatively good at
80-85%. For tumors that extend through the renal capsule and out of the local fascial
investments, the survivability reduces to near 60%. If it has metastasized to the lymph
nodes, the 5-year survival is around 5 % to 15 %. If it has spread metastatically to other
organs, the 5-year survival at less than 5 %.
For those that have tumor recurrence after surgery, the prognosis is generally poor. Renal
cell carcinoma does not generally respond to chemotherapy or radiation. Immunotherapy,
which attempts to induce the body to attack the remaining cancer cells, has shown promise.
Recent trials are testing newer agents, though the current complete remission rate with
these approaches are still low, around 12-20% in most series.
Kidney Cancer Picture | |
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