Diagnosis

Tests and procedures used to diagnose kidney cancer include:

• Blood and urine tests. Tests of your blood and your urine may give your doctor clues about what's causing your signs and symptoms.
• Imaging tests. Imaging tests allow your doctor to visualize a kidney tumor or abnormality. Imaging tests might include ultrasound, X-ray, CT or MRI.
• Removing a sample of kidney tissue (biopsy). In some situations, your doctor may recommend a procedure to remove a small sample of cells (biopsy) from a suspicious area of your kidney. The sample is tested in a lab to look for signs of cancer. This procedure isn't always needed.

Kidney cancer staging

Once your doctor identifies a kidney lesion that might be kidney cancer, the next step is to determine the extent (stage) of the cancer. Staging tests for kidney cancer may include additional CT scans or other imaging tests your doctor feels are appropriate.

The stages of kidney cancer are indicated by Roman numerals that range from I to IV, with the lowest stages indicating cancer that is confined to the kidney. By stage IV, the cancer is considered advanced and may have spread to the lymph nodes or to other areas of the body.