Does kidney cancer cause fever?

Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
Updated on April 26, 2025
00:00
00:00

Kidney cancer itself generally does not cause fever. Kidney cancer is a malignant tumor, and the most common clinical manifestation in patients is hematuria. As this malignant tumor grows larger, it may eventually rupture and bleed, leading patients to notice the formation of blood in the urine. Some patients may also be able to feel a mass in the abdomen. In severe cases of kidney cancer, it may lead to reduced urine output due to kidney failure. These symptoms are common manifestations of kidney cancer. Kidney cancer itself is unlikely to cause a fever, but due to the presence of kidney cancer, changes in the tissue structure of the kidney can occur, making infections more likely. When an infection occurs, it may also cause a fever, but this fever is not directly caused by the kidney cancer itself.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xu Chun Hua
Urology
26sec home-news-image

How long can someone with kidney cancer and hematuria survive?

A common symptom of kidney cancer is painless visible blood in urine, which is also the primary initial symptom. It is intermittent and sometimes accompanied by blood clots. However, after exhibiting this symptom, how long a patient can live depends on individual constitution and the severity of the condition. Once discovered, early surgical treatment is recommended, followed by immunotherapy, such as using interferons and interleukins.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Jian
Urology
58sec home-news-image

Treatment Plans for Renal Cancer

The treatment principles for kidney cancer vary depending on the stage of the cancer. For localized or locally advanced kidney cancer, surgical treatment is primarily used. For advanced kidney cancer, a comprehensive medical treatment approach is mainly used. Surgical treatment is typically the first choice for treating kidney cancer and is currently recognized as a curative method. In early stages, kidney-sparing surgery or radical nephrectomy can be performed using either laparoscopic or open surgery. For mid to late-stage kidney cancer patients, radical nephrectomy is commonly performed as an open surgery. For advanced kidney cancer, treatment primarily involves medical management, which may include surgical removal of the affected kidney. Additionally, treatments can be supplemented with immunotherapy or targeted therapy to improve treatment efficacy. Therefore, different stages of kidney cancer require different treatment plans.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
48sec home-news-image

Can kidney cancer patients be contagious?

Kidney cancer is not an infectious disease, so it is not contagious. Kidney cancer actually occurs when carcinogenic changes happen in the epithelial cells of the renal tubules, leading to the formation of masses and blood in the urine within the kidneys, and can even cause kidney failure. Moreover, kidney cancer carries a certain risk of metastasis, potentially causing damage to other organs. This disease is not contagious. The so-called infectiousness of a disease is due to the presence of pathogens that can cause infection. For example, hepatitis B can be transmitted because carriers have the hepatitis B virus in their bodies. Kidney cancer, however, does not involve viruses, bacteria, or fungi, so it is not infectious.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xu Chun Hua
Urology
41sec home-news-image

What tests are done to diagnose kidney cancer?

The typical clinical manifestations of renal cancer are hematuria, a mass, and flank pain, but these symptoms generally appear only in the middle and late stages. CT scans often play a decisive role in the diagnosis of renal cancer. Ultrasound examinations are mainly used to screen for the presence of tumors in the entire urinary system, while excretory urography can reveal compression inside the renal pelvis by the tumor, which may show irregular deformations, narrowing, or elongation. Generally speaking, CT scans are quite important for the diagnosis of renal cancer and also play a decisive role.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Jian
Urology
1min 15sec home-news-image

Will a stage 1 kidney cancer recurrence occur after nephrectomy?

Stage I kidney cancer generally belongs to early-stage kidney cancer, which usually presents no symptoms and is most often discovered during physical examinations. This is the case for more than 50%-60% of kidney cancers. The examination for kidney cancer also requires a CT scan of the kidney and an enhanced CT scan to confirm the diagnosis. If it is stage I, the cure rate through surgical removal is very high. Surgical operation is the first choice for treating kidney cancer and is recognized as a means to cure kidney cancer. Early-stage kidney cancer can be treated with laparoscopic or traditional open surgery, which involves a radical removal of the kidney. For patients with stage I kidney cancer, the five-year survival rate can reach about 92%. Post-surgery, regular follow-up visits are necessary to check for recurrence, metastasis, and new tumors. After surgery, stage I kidney cancer patients should have follow-up visits every three to six months for the first three years and annually thereafter. Stage I kidney cancer has a chance of being completely cured but also the possibility of recurrence, so regular follow-ups are essential.