Diagnosis

Common tests and examinations used to diagnose kidney cancer:

• Blood and urine tests
  Testing your blood and urine can provide information about the possible causes of your symptoms.

• Imaging tests
  These include ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

• Biopsy (examining a small sample of kidney tissue)
  In some cases, your doctor may recommend this procedure to take a sample of cells from a potentially cancerous area of the kidney. The sample is then examined in a laboratory for malignant cells.

Staging of Kidney Cancer

Once a diagnosis of kidney cancer has been confirmed, the next step is for your doctor to determine the stage (extent) of the disease.
Additional imaging tests, such as another CT scan or other types of scans, may be required for this assessment.

Kidney cancer is classified into the following stages:

• Stage I
  In this stage, the tumor is up to seven centimeters in size and confined to the kidney.

• Stage II
  The tumor is larger than in Stage I but still limited to the kidney.

• Stage III
  The cancer has spread beyond the kidney into surrounding tissue and may have reached a nearby lymph node.

• Stage IV
  The cancer has spread to multiple lymph nodes or distant parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, or lungs.