Kidney Cancer

Led by Ithaar Derweesh, MD (right) and Frederick Millard, MD, our team of internationally recognized physicians and surgeons treats all stages of kidney cancer. We provide leading-edge therapy in an interdisciplinary setting and have pioneered novel treatments for all stages of kidney cancer. In fact, we see patients from around the world.

Kidney cancer includes renal cell carcinoma (cancer that forms in the cortex, or body, of the kidney) and renal pelvis carcinoma (cancer that forms in the cells lining the urine collecting system of the kidney). The most common form of kidney cancer in adults is renal cell carcinoma. 

Treatment Options

Partial Nephrectomy: (Removal of part of the kidney)

Our surgeons are changing the way physicians approach this disease by removing the diseased part of the kidney and sparing healthy kidney tissue. Removing only a part of the kidney (a partial nephrectomy) preserves kidney function and quality of life. A partial nephrectomy may be appropriate for patients with small kidney masses, as well as those with larger kidney masses for whom preservation of functioning kidney tissue is critical.

Partial nephrectomy is a more difficult surgical procedure, but may offer significant benefits compared to radical nephrectomy which is removal of the entire kidney. The risk of chronic kidney disease, bone fractures, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction and cardiac events may be reduced when the healthy portion of the kidney is saved. The UC San Diego Health urology team has one of the highest kidney preservation rates in the country. Over 70 percent of patients treated for kidney cancer at UC San Diego Health receive a partial nephrectomy.

There are three ways to remove the diseased portion of the kidney. UC San Diego Health is one of the most experienced medical centers in the world in performing these three types of procedures:

Robotic Partial Nephrectomy
Robotically assisted partial nephrectomy surgery is a special form of minimally invasive surgery that uses the da Vinci® Surgical System. UC San Diego Health is a leader in innovative and minimally invasive treatments for kidney cancer using robot-assisted techniques.

Open Partial Nephrectomy

Some partial nephrectomies, whether because of tumor size, location or prior patient surgical history, may need to be performed by open nephrectomy.

UC San Diego Health surgeons are some of the most experienced in performing complex open partial nephrectomy for large kidney tumors, when preservation of kidney tissue is necessary. Open partial nephrectomy may be appropriate for retaining kidney function because of pre-existing kidney disease, bilateral kidney tumors or for patients who have only one functioning kidney.

UC San Diego Health surgeons and physicians are developing new techniques to shrink large tumors with targeted chemotherapy to enable kidney preservation when necessary, even in advanced disease. We are also developing new technologies to minimize damage to healthy kidney tissue during the procedure in order to maximize the benefit of kidney preservation.

Single-Incision Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy

A new form of minimally invasive surgery to treat kidney cancer is single-incision laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. In this procedure, the surgeon makes one incision in the belly button to remove the cancerous part of the kidney. UC San Diego Health was the second center in the world to report performing this procedure. Known by the acronym LESS (laparo-endoscopic single-site surgery), the procedure has been shown to be less painful than traditional laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.