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HOW IS ccRCC ASSESSED?

Kidney tumors are being diagnosed more often due to increased use of medical imaging for other unrelated conditions.1

While imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect tumors, they can’t confidently determine if a tumor is clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Tissue sampling (biopsy) or surgery is often needed to confirm a diagnosis.2

Do all tumors
need surgery?

4 in10
small kidney tumors (less than 4 cm) are not cancerous and can be safely watched2,3

What are the stages of ccRCC?

Staging for kidney cancer most often uses the TNM system, which is based on 3 factors4:

  • T describes the size of the main tumor
  • N tells if the cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes
  • M describes if the cancer has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body

Once a person’s T, N, and M factors are known, an overall stage (1 to 4) can be assigned. Higher numbers mean more advanced cancer.4

ccRCC staging4,5

Early and accurate ccRCC detection can help improve treatment outcomes5

Treatments work best when ccRCC is found early.5 Imaging technology has been showing promise and improving over the years,6 and doctors are finding kidney tumors earlier than ever before.5

ccRCC is not easily detected with current imaging options2

Find out why
References: 1. Mytsyk Y, Dutka I, Yuriy B, et al. Differential diagnosis of the small renal masses: role of the apparent diffusion coefficient of the diffusion-weighted MRI. Int Urol Nephrol. 2018;50(2):197-204. 2. Cleveland Clinic. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22273-clear-cell-renal-cell-carcinoma 3. Kang SK, Bjurlin MA, Huang WC. Small kidney tumors. JAMA. 2019;322(6):588. 4. American Cancer Society. Kidney cancer stages. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/kidney-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/staging.html 5. Cleveland Clinic. Renal cell carcinoma. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24906-renal-cell-carcinoma 6. Fried JG, Morgan MA. Renal imaging: core curriculum 2019. Am J Kidney Dis. 2019;73(4):552-565.