What symptoms can indicate renal cell carcinoma?

Renal cell carcinoma often presents no symptoms in its early stages, and it is frequently not recognized until the disease has progressed or metastasized to other parts of the body. When symptoms do occur, they can be associated with other disorders and may include the following:123

• Urinary changes: Painless blood in the urine is a common early sign, though it is often disregarded.123
• Pain: Patients may experience unexplained pain in the side or lower back, or a dull pain in the loins caused by the stretching of the kidney capsule.23
• Physical signs: A lump may be palpable in the abdomen.23
• Systemic symptoms: General indicators include fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, and anemia.23
• Fluid regulation issues: Because the cancer can affect kidney function, patients may develop high blood pressure or swelling in the feet or ankles.2
• Metastatic indicators: In some cases, the first evidence of the disease is related to secondary tumors, such as spitting up blood (if spread to the lungs) or pathological fractures (if spread to the bones).3

Because symptoms are often vague or absent until the disease is advanced, early diagnosis typically relies on imaging techniques.23