March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month

Join with the AACR to find better ways to prevent and treat kidney cancer

Cancer of the kidney is among the most common cancers in the United States, with approximately 80,980 new diagnoses and 14,510 deaths in 2025, according to federal estimates. 

Kidney cancer is also known as renal cell cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type. Treatment often involves surgery to remove all or part of the affected organ. After surgery, doctors will often use chemotherapy or radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells that remain.

In recent years, the use of molecularly targeted therapeutics and immunotherapeutics have transformed clinical care for patients with kidney cancer. The immunotherapeutic pembrolizumab (Keytruda), for example, was shown to be the first postsurgical immunotherapy to help patients with early-stage kidney cancer live longer, as described in Cancer Today, AACR’s magazine for cancer patients and their loved ones.

Smoking is a risk factor for kidney cancer. So is misuse of certain pain medicines, including over-the-counter drugs. In addition, certain genetic conditions, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease, increase a person’s risk of developing kidney cancer.

more on kidney cancer research

• New options being studied for treating kidney cancer—including a personalized neoantigen vaccine and an innovative CAR T-cell therapy—are highlighted in Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the AACR.
• Researchers are also exploring ways to overcome some of the issues that patients with renal cell carcinoma may face with certain therapies, including developing resistance to treatment and dealing with side effects that impact their quality of life. Learn more about potential solutions on Cancer Research Catalyst.

One Person’s Story

Billy Foster, a jazz musician and retired music teacher in Gary, Indiana, has been living with kidney cancer since 1996. He had surgery as his first treatment. After the cancer came back years later, he has had several new therapies and now has stable disease. Read his story here: Billy Foster: Focused on the Healing Power of Music

What the AACR is Doing in The Area of Kidney Cancer Research

Supporting Research

With its funding partners, the AACR supports promising research in kidney cancer, including:

• Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD, of UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Astgik Petrosyan, PhD, of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, were awarded AACR-KidneyCAN Kidney Cancer Innovation and Discovery Grants. DeBerardinis is studying ways to inhibit and image mitochondrial enablers of kidney cancer progression, while Petrosyan is working to target the extracellular matrix in kidney cancer.
• Zachary A. Yochum, MD, PhD, of Yale University, was awarded an AACR-Exelixis Renal Cell Carcinoma Research Fellowship. He is working to determine the role of endogenous retroviruses in adaptive immune responses in renal cell carcinoma.

W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, former director of the National Cancer Institute and current CEO of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, is a renowned kidney or renal cell cancer researcher. During her career in academic medicine, she received support from the AACR and funding partners. She discussed how grant-funding partnerships provide critical support for cancer researchers.

Kidney Cancer-Focused Conference

On March 13-16, 2026, the AACR will host a special conference on Innovations in Kidney Cancer Research: From Molecular Insights to Therapeutic Breakthroughs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The meeting brings together leading experts from around the world to explore the latest breakthroughs in kidney cancer.

for more information

Please see our page on kidney cancer, which includes detailed information on treatment.