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Types of kidney cancer development

Illustration of exophytic (outward growth) kidney cancer (left), and infiltrative transitional cell cancer of the collecting ducts (right)

Kidney cancer can develop as a single, protrusive mass (left), called exophytic cancer, which can be removed using partial nephrectomy; or it can be a rarer, invasive, transitional (urothelial) cell cancer that's surgically complex to remove and usually requires complete kidney removal.

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