Kidney Cancer Care

Kidney Cancer Treatment in Boston

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), our Kidney Tumor Program is nationally recognized for excellence in renal (kidney) cancer care. We offer the full range of treatments, from surgery and chemotherapy to the latest targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

Our multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive, personalized care using advanced diagnostic tools, minimally invasive surgical techniques, and access to clinical trials. Whether your kidney cancer is newly diagnosed or advanced, we are committed to delivering expert, compassionate care at every stage.

About the Kidney Tumor Program

Our program is a world-class leader in kidney cancer treatment and research. Among the first in New England to offer a multidisciplinary team dedicated to kidney cancer, we are:

• The lead site for the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Kidney Cancer Program
• The lead recipient of the only National Cancer Institute-funded kidney cancer SPORE research grant

Specialized Screening & Diagnostic Tools

Our kidney tumor specialists use the latest screening and diagnostic tools to accurately and promptly diagnose kidney cancer. Depending on your symptoms and health situation, you may need some combination of the following imaging and laboratory tests:

What To Expect

Our kidney tumor care team works hard to make your journey with us as streamlined and straightforward as possible. This starts with your initial visit at one of our cancer care locations, when you will see both a kidney surgeon and a medical oncologist on the same day. We’ll recommend next steps — such as additional testing, biopsy or treatment — based on your individual needs.

Our multidisciplinary conference meets weekly to discuss each kidney tumor case. This allows a full range of cancer experts to review your case and offer you the best treatment options.

Renal Cancer Treatment

Your care team will recommend your treatment based on the cancer type you have, the stage of your cancer, your overall health and other factors. Kidney tumor specialists only use chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat certain kidney tumors and in specific situations.

If you have low-risk kidney cancer, your doctors may suggest active surveillance to actively see if the disease is progressing. If you need treatment, it will involve some combination of the following options.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy (also called biological therapy) uses medications to increase your body’s natural ability to fight cancer. Cancer vaccines, a form of biological therapy, stimulate the growth of cancer-fighting cells in the immune system.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapies attack specific aspects of the cancerous tumor, or the blood supply that feeds the tumor.

Percutaneous Ablation & Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

For small kidney tumors, the Cancer Center offers two innovative, non-surgical treatments that don’t require an overnight stay in the hospital. In percutaneous ablation, doctors place a probe through the skin and into the tumor to freeze it (cryoablation) or burn it (radiofrequency ablation, or RFA).

CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery

CyberKnife radiosurgery is a form of radiation oncology. This procedure allows the radiologist to achieve superior targeting accuracy by sending pencil-thin beams into the tumor. This helps prevent damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.

We were the first center in New England — and one of the only centers in the country — to use CyberKnife to treat kidney tumors. Your oncologist may recommend CyberKnife if you have a small but growing kidney tumor and you are not an ideal candidate for kidney surgery or radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Surgical Kidney Tumor Removal

Your kidney tumor care team may recommend surgery to remove the tumor.

Cancer Clinical Trials

A founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, BIDMC is the lead site for the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer Program and clinical trials. You may qualify to join one of our extensive clinical trials.

We design these research studies to discover better treatments for cancer patients based on the most up-to-date clinical information from around the world. We are committed to bringing you the latest in effective treatment options.

Rehabilitation, Supportive Care & Survivorship

We provide supportive care and rehabilitation to help you manage symptoms of cancer and side effects of cancer treatments. We offer ongoing survivorship services during and after treatment, as well heart healthcare and nutritional support for people who’ve had cancer.

Multidisciplinary Kidney Cancer Team

We are one of the few multidisciplinary kidney cancer centers in the northeast. This means that you will receive evaluation and treatment not from just one doctor, but from an entire team of kidney cancer experts from many different medical specialties. Our integrated approach to evaluation and treatment ensures you get an accurate diagnosis and gives you the broadest range of treatment options.