Cystic renal cell carcinoma is a rare type of cancer. A person may develop cystic renal cell carcinoma if they have treatment for the last stages of kidney failure.

Cystic renal cell carcinoma (CRCC) is a type of kidney cancer. People may develop CRCC if they have acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD). People may develop ACKD if they have treatment for kidney failure over several years.

CRCC does not usually cause people to have symptoms. However, healthcare professionals can use imaging scans to detect and diagnose it. Treatment for CRCC typically involves surgery to remove some or all of a person’s kidney.

Another name for CRCC is acquired cystic disease-associated renal cell carcinoma (ACD-RCC).

This article discusses what cystic renal cell carcinoma is, its symptoms, and other types of renal cell carcinoma. It also discusses diagnosis and treatment for cystic renal cell carcinoma. Finally, it outlines the outlook and risk factors for cystic renal cell carcinoma.

Doctor showing a scan to a femaleShare on Pinterest
Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

Cystic renal cell carcinoma (CRCC) is a rare type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC is a common form of kidney cancer.

If a person’s RCC is cystic instead of solid, then it contains fluid-filled masses called cysts. Cysts are pockets of tissue filled with fluid, air, or other materials.

CRCC usually affects people in the last stages of ACKD. With ACKD, the kidneys develop cysts over time due to long-term damage. About 9 in 10 people who undergo dialysis for 5 years develop ACKD.

Dialysis is a treatment that removes waste products and fluids from the body because the kidneys cannot. It is a treatment for people who have kidney failure.

Most people with CRCC do not have any symptoms. This is called asymptomatic CRCC.

However, some symptoms of CRCC may include:

  • blood in the urine, also called:
    • microscopic hematuria, where the blood is only visible under a microscope
    • gross hematuria or hematuria, where a person can see the blood
  • kidney pain on one or both sides of the body between the upper belly and back, also called flank pain
  • abdominal mass, or a lump in the abdominal area

RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer. Roughly 90% of kidney cancers are RCCs.

There are several different types of RCC, including:

  • Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (clear cell RCC): This is the most common type of RCC. Clear cell RCCs have cells that look pale or clear when seen through a microscope. Cystic RCC is a type of clear cell RCC.
  • Non-clear cell renal cell carcinomas: These cells are not clear when viewed through a microscope.
  • Papillary renal cell carcinoma: These cancers form projections that look like fingers, called papillae, within a tumor.
  • Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: These cells are darker and have other features compared with clear cell RCCs.
  • Unclassified renal cell carcinoma: About 5% of RCCs do not fit into any other category, or they have more than one type of RCC within them.
  • Other rare subtypes of RCCs: These make up less than 1% of RCCs.

CRCC may have similar signs and symptoms to benign renal cysts. These are cysts in the kidney that are not cancerous.

Healthcare professionals normally diagnose a person with CRCC using imaging scans and by examining tissue samples. They may use tests such as:

  • ultrasound exams, where they use echoes from high energy sound waves to make images of body tissues
  • CT scans, or CAT scans, which use X-rays and computers to make images of the interior of a person’s body
  • MRI scans, which use magnets and radio waves to make computerized images of the inside of the body
  • biopsies, which remove cells or tissues from the body for laboratory analysis and cancer checks

Healthcare professionals recommend screening for cysts if a person has 10 or more years of dialysis.

Risk factors

Scientists are not yet sure how CRCC develops from ACKD. However, nearly all cases of CRCC occur in people who have dialysis treatment for ACKD. Their risk increases if they have had dialysis for over 10 years.

They have this treatment as part of the last stage of end stage renal disease (ESRD). People with ESRD may develop ACKD.

ESRD is a condition where the kidneys can no longer work well enough to keep them alive. ESRD is also called end stage kidney disease (ESKD) or kidney failure.

The main risk factors for ESRD include high blood pressure and diabetes.

Other ESRD risk factors include:

  • IgA nephropathy: This is an autoimmune disease where clumps of antibodies build up in the kidneys and cause inflammation together with kidney damage.
  • Lupus nephritis: Lupus nephritis is where lupus autoantibodies affect parts of a person’s kidneys that filter out waste.
  • Polycystic kidney disease (PKD): PKD is an inherited condition where clusters of cysts develop in the kidneys, causing them to enlarge and lose function over time.
  • Fabry disease: Fabry disease is a rare genetic condition where the body cannot break down certain fats.

The most effective treatment that healthcare professionals use for CRCC is nephrectomy. A nephrectomy involves removing all or part of the kidney.

Surgeons will aim to perform nephron-sparing surgery to treat CRCC. This is where surgeons remove a tumor completely while still preserving as much kidney function as possible.

There does not appear to be much current data on survival rates for people with CRCC. This is due to the low number of people with CRCC that scientists have followed up on for investigation.

However, healthcare professionals generally consider a person’s outlook for CRCC to be good after a successful nephrectomy.

There appear to be no specific guidelines for follow-up checks after treating a person for CRCC. However, healthcare professionals may use follow-up checks every 6 months for 3 years. They may also use annual follow-up checks afterward.

Cancer resources

To discover more evidence-based information and resources for cancer, visit our dedicated hub.

CRCC is a rare form of renal cell carcinoma, a common type of kidney cancer. People with CRCC have tumors that contain cysts. Cysts are pockets of tissue filled with fluids or other materials.

People may develop CRCC if they have acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD). ACKD often develops if a person has kidney failure and then has dialysis treatment for it over several years. Typically, healthcare professionals will regularly test a person for cysts if they have had dialysis for over 10 years.

People with CRCC do not normally have symptoms. Healthcare professionals can usually detect CRCC using imaging scans.

To treat CRCC, surgeons remove all or some of the kidneys.

There is no recent scientific data on the outlook for a person with CRCC. However, healthcare professionals typically consider their outlook to be positive.