Kidney cancer care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
At Mayo Clinic, our experienced specialists — including urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists and pathologists — work as a team to provide personalized care for people with kidney cancer. Other areas are included as needed, such as medical genetics, integrative medicine or palliative care.
A team of pediatric specialists at Mayo Clinic Children's Center manage the diagnosis and treatment of Wilms' tumor, a form of kidney cancer that occurs in children.
Full range of the latest treatment options
Mayo Clinic experts will work with you to review all of your options and recommend the treatment that best suits your needs and goals. The range of treatments offered to people with kidney cancer includes surgery, medications, radiation therapy and minimally invasive procedures, such as cryoablation and radiofrequency ablation.
Experts in kidney-sparing surgery
Mayo Clinic urologic surgeons are leaders in using kidney-sparing surgery (partial nephrectomy) approaches to kidney cancer removal. Highly trained and experienced experts can accomplish kidney preservation in circumstances that otherwise might cause severely limited kidney function or the need for dialysis.
Urologists have access to the latest technology and use advanced surgical techniques to offer robot-assisted options (also called robotic surgery) and open surgery for partial nephrectomy. Mayo Clinic experience and surgical specialization results in excellent outcomes and minimizes potential complications.
Leaders in kidney cancer research
Mayo Clinic doctors and scientists are actively involved in kidney cancer research to develop new strategies for diagnosis and treatment. Cancer research at Mayo Clinic has led to important discoveries, including one that led to immunotherapy treatments called immune checkpoint inhibitors that have revolutionized care for people with advanced cancers, including kidney cancer.
Mayo Clinic is an international leader in innovation and research on surgical and nonsurgical management of kidney tumors. Researchers have improved the chances of cure, leading to extended survival and improved quality of life for people with advanced kidney cancers.
Access to clinical trials
People who seek care at Mayo Clinic have the chance to consider clinical trials that offer the latest in treatment advances. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center participates in clinical trials that involve experimental drugs that aren't widely available at all cancer treatment centers.
Expertise and rankings
When you seek care at Mayo Clinic, you can expect:
- Kidney cancer experts. Mayo Clinic's experienced kidney cancer experts, including urologists, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists work as a team to provide the best care for people with kidney cancer.Our highly skilled urologic surgeons have perfected minimally invasive techniques in nephrectomy procedures, including partial nephrectomy to remove kidney cancer and preserve function as much as possible.
- Excellent outcomes. Mayo Clinic's multispecialty kidney cancer team cares for many people with kidney cancer each year. People who seek care at hospitals that perform many kidney cancer operations every year tend to experience fewer complications.
- Expertise in complex kidney cancers. Mayo Clinic urologic surgeons and medical oncologists are seasoned experts in treating even the most advanced kidney cancers, including complex large renal masses. The highly specialized and experienced surgical teams at Mayo Clinic can perform complex nephrectomies in circumstances where others may view the tumor as not removable.
- Comprehensive cancer center. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center, which recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. In addition, Mayo Clinic is designated as a National Comprehensive Cancer Network center and is a member of the Children's Oncology Group, collaborating with experts in childhood cancer around the world.
- Personalized medicine. Mayo Clinic's kidney cancer team tailors treatment to meet your specific needs. The Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine offers genomic testing in certain situations in order to personalize care for difficult medical problems. Requests for this service are assessed and considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Genetic testing and counseling. Your doctor may recommend meeting with a genetic counselor if there's a concern that you may have a hereditary cancer syndrome or other hereditary disorder such as von Hippel-Lindau disease, tuberous sclerosis, hereditary leiomyomatosis, Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome or hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma. Mayo Clinic medical geneticists and certified genetic counselors work as a team to provide genetic testing and counseling.
If a genetic condition is suspected, medical geneticists and certified genetic counselors at Mayo Clinic evaluate genetic conditions and provide testing, education and counseling.
Mayo Clinic Children's Center
Highly skilled pediatric experts diagnose and treat all types of conditions in children. As a team, we work together to find answers, set goals and develop a treatment plan tailored to your child's needs.
Learn more about the Children's Center.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.