Research into kidney cancer

How to find a clinical trial

Some of the trials on this page have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collect and analyse the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of the type of research being carried out in to kidney cancer.

Go to Cancer Research UK's clinical trial database if you are looking for a trial for kidney cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials you think you might be able to take part in. 

Find a clinical trial

Research and clinical trials

All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:

• they work

• they work better than the treatments already available

• they are safe

To make sure the research is accurate, each trial has certain entry conditions for who can take part. These are different for each trial.

Hospitals do not take part in every clinical trial. Some trials are only done in a small number of hospitals, or in one area of the country. You may need to travel quite far if you take part in these trials.

Research into screening for kidney cancer

Screening means testing people for an early stage of cancer before they have symptoms. There is currently no national screening programme for kidney cancer in the UK. Many kidney cancers are diagnosed when having a scan for another reason.

Researchers are asking people in Yorkshire who are taking part in a lung cancer screening trial if they will have an extra CT scan to check for kidney cancer. They are looking to see if people will have this extra scan and if they can offer it to more people.

Research into the risks and causes of kidney cancer

Gene changes

Some people inherit changes in their genes that increase their risk of developing kidney cancer. Cancers caused by these genes are called hereditary or familial kidney cancer. 

Researchers want a greater understanding of the genetic causes of kidney cancer. This includes genes that doctors know increase the risk of kidney cancer. And new genes that may also increase the risk. There are several studies looking into this.

Biomarkers

Biomarkers are parts of a cell that show how a disease is developing or how a treatment is working. Researchers are looking at measuring biomarkers in kidney cancer cells to help them understand more about cancer and why it develops. This is done by looking at samples of:

• blood

• urine

• poo

• breath

• the cancer - if you have had a ​biopsy​ taken from it or surgery to remove it

Find trials looking at the risks and causes of kidney cancer

Research into diagnosing kidney cancer 

It’s easier to treat cancer successfully if it is diagnosed early. Doctors want to diagnose kidney cancer with a simple test that people are willing to do. Researchers are trying to find out if it is possible to diagnose kidney cancer by looking at: 

• substances in breath samples

• proteins in blood and urine samples

• different types of scans

• urine samples – to see if dogs can smell kidney cancer cells

Search for clinical trials looking at diagnosing kidney cancer

Research into treatments for kidney cancer

There are many different treatments for kidney cancer. Researchers look to see if they can improve these treatments. They also study new treatments.

Surgery

Surgery is the main treatment for kidney cancer that hasn’t spread to other parts of the body.  The surgeon may remove all or part of the kidney. Some people may only be able to have one of these operations. But for other people either operation may be possible. Doctors don’t know if one of the operations is better for people than the other. Researchers are studying them to find out.

New drug treatments

Doctors currently use targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy to treat kidney cancer. Targeted cancer drugs target the differences in cancer cells that help them to grow and survive. Immunotherapy drugs help the immune system to attack cancer. Some drugs work in more than one way. They target cell differences and work with the immune system.

Researchers are focusing on new targeted and immunotherapy drugs. These may be completely new or ones already used for other cancer types. Examples of these are: 

• durvalumab (Imfinzi)

• savolitinib (Orpathys)

• tremelimumab (Imjudo)

• belzutifan (Welireg)

Researchers are also testing vaccines to treat kidney cancer. They are a type of immunotherapy. They help your immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. These are for people who already have cancer. They are different to vaccines that protect us from disease.

New drug treatments may be tested on their own or with other drugs already used to treat kidney cancer. Doctors are trying to find out:

• if the new drugs work better than ones already used

• the best dose of the drug

• how they work in the body

• the side effects

Combination treatments

Some cancer drugs work better if used in combination with other cancer drugs. Doctors are looking at combining:

• 2 immunotherapy drugs

• 2 targeted cancer drugs

• targeted cancer drugs with immunotherapy drugs

Chemotherapy does not work very well in people with kidney cancer. But doctors are looking to see if it works better if combined with an immunotherapy drug.

Timing of treatment

A number of immunotherapy and targeted cancer drugs are now standard treatment for advanced kidney cancer. You usually have these drugs for as long as they are working. But they do have side effects. So doctors want to find out if some treatments work as well if people:

• have them less often

• have breaks in their treatment rather than having it regularly

Treatment after surgery

For some cancer types, you have treatment after surgery to try to prevent a cancer coming back. This is called adjuvant therapy.

Research has shown that an immunotherapy drug can help people who have a higher chance of their kidney cancer coming back after surgery. Doctors would like to find out if other immunotherapy or targeted cancer drugs also work.

Vascular targeted photodynamic therapy

Research is looking at treating small renal cell kidney cancers with vascular targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP).

VTP uses a light activated drug called WST 11 which you have through a drip into the vein. Your doctor puts laser fibres into the cancer to activate the drug. This damages the blood vessels that feed the cancer and can shrink it.

If research shows that it helps, people in the future may be able to have VTP for small kidney cancers instead of surgery.

Ultrasound treatment (histotripsy)

Histotripsy uses short bursts of ultrasound waves to kill cancer cells. Doctors are looking to see if it can treat small kidney cancers that haven’t spread.

T cell treatment

T cells are ​white blood cells​ and are part of the ​immune system​. They help protect the body against illness and infection. Researchers are looking at a new treatment that boosts the immune system using a person’s own T cells.

This is an early trial. But researchers think these cells may play an important part in treating a few different cancers including kidney cancer.

Find trials looking at treatment for kidney cancer

Research into monitoring treatment

You usually have CT scans during treatment for kidney cancer. This is so your doctor can check if the treatment is working. Doctors think different ways of scanning may be better at checking this. These include looking at:

• using ​PET-CT scans​ to measure the growth of blood vessels to a cancer

• tracking cancer cells on a ​PET scan​ using new radioactive liquids (tracer)

Find out more about PET and PET-CT scans in our tests A to Z

Research into living with kidney cancer

More people are surviving cancer for longer. So we are becoming more aware of the long term effects of cancer and its treatment. Getting back to normal life after treatment has finished can be challenging. Researchers are looking at the barriers people face when returning to work after cancer treatment.

Doctors use clinical practice guidelines to make decisions about the care people with cancer receive. These guidelines are recommendations based on the best available clinical evidence. Researchers are looking at involving people with kidney cancer in making these guidelines. This is so they can have a say in the way future cancer care is designed and delivered.

Find trials looking at living with kidney cancer

Our research into kidney cancer

Find out how our researchers are discovering new ways to tackle kidney cancer