| | The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on either side of the spine at the small of the back. Adult-sized kidneys are about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. People need at least one functioning kidney to live. Inside each kidney are tiny tubules that filter and clean the blood, removing waste products such as water, mineral salts and toxins. The collected waste, or urine, is sent to the bladder for excretion.
Each year, more than 30,000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer (also called renal cell carcinoma or renal adenocarcinoma). Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a cancer of the lining of the kidney's tubules, and accounts for 85 percent of kidney cancers. The rest are transitional cell cancers, which start in a part of the kidney called the renal pelvis.
Kidney cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer. There are more than 100,000 kidney cancer survivors in the United States.
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