Epidemiology

RCC accounts for 80% to 90% of all kidney cancers.[1][2]​​​ Kidney cancer comprises approximately 4.1% of all new cancers in the US, with a median age at diagnosis of 65 years.[19] It is estimated that 81,610 new cases will be diagnosed, and 14,390 patients will die from the disease in the US in 2024.[19]​​ Kidney cancer is the sixth and ninth most common diagnosed adult malignancy in men and women, respectively.[20]

In the US, the incidence and mortality rates for kidney cancer are highest among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native persons (39.5 new cases per 100,000 persons [2017-2021, age-adjusted] and 10.1 deaths per 100,000 persons [2018-2022 age-adjusted], respectively).[19][21]​​​ Non-Hispanic Black Americans have modestly higher incidence of kidney cancer than non-Hispanic White people and Hispanic Americans (25.3 new cases per 100,000 persons vs. 24.2 and 23.9, respectively [2017-2021, age-adjusted]).[19]

Worldwide, the age standardized incidence rate of kidney cancer is 6.1 in 100,000 in males and 3.2 in 100,000 in females.[22] Incidence rates had been increasing in Europe and North America by about 2% over the last two decades, but have stabilized in most Western countries.[23][24][25]​​​​ There is great global variation in incidence, suggesting a strong role for exogenous factors and geographic variation in genetic risk.[26]

The increased prevalence of RCC in higher income settings is possibly secondary to improved imaging detection and decreasing mortality.[27] More than 50% of renal masses are diagnosed during an evaluation for unrelated signs or symptoms, and results in early detection of potentially curable small RCCs.[1][2]

The decrease in mortality in Western Europe, the US, and Australia is multifactorial, but mostly attributed to decreased smoking rates, improved therapies, and access to medical care.[27][28]​ The mortality-to-incidence ratio is lower in developed countries than in less developed regions.[29]

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