Cancer - renal pelvis or ureter

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Kidney anatomy

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Cancer - renal pelvis or ureter

Alternative Names:

Transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis or ureter

Treatment:

The goal of treatment is to eliminate the cancer.

Surgical removal of all or part of the kidney (nephrectomy) is usually recommended. This may include removal of part of the bladder and surrounding tissues or lymph nodes. If the tumor is in the ureter, it may be possible to remove it while preserving the kidney.

When the cancer has spread outside of the kidney or ureter, chemotherapy is often used. Because these tumors behave similarly to transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, the chemotherapy regimens used are similar to those used for bladder cancer.

Support Groups:

For additional information and resources, see cancer support groups.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outcome varies depending on the exact location of the tumor and whether the cancer has metastasized. Cancer localized to the kidney or ureter can be cured with surgery.

Cancer that has metastasized to other organs is usually not curable, though there are exceptions.

Complications:

Local spread of the tumor with increasing pain
Spread of the cancer
Kidney failure

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if the symptoms listed above are present.

Review Date: 8/3/2004
Reviewed By: Marcia S. Brose, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hematology/Oncology, The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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