Cancer that arises in the kidneys comes from either the functional tissue of the kidney or from the lining of the collecting system. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) arises from the functional tissue of the kidney and is far more common than other types of kidney cancer. Frequently, RCC is found incidentally on imaging for other reasons.
Treatments for kidney cancer range from watchful waiting or minimally invasive therapies to open surgery with or without chemotherapy. Some treatments, such as surgical resection of all or part of the kidney (nephrectomy), has the potential side effect of causing worsening kidney function and the need for dialysis.
Stage I RCC (measuring less than 7 cm in diameter) can potentially be cured with minimally invasive treatments such as percutaneous ablation with or without transcatheter embolization, which can be done by the talented interventional radiologists at South Florida Vascular Associates. This treatment largely avoids the added risk of open surgical procedures and is the treatment most likely to preserve the most kidney function.