Life Expectancy After Kidney Removal
What does long-term survival depend on?
A nephrectomy (kidney removal surgery) is a major surgery that has risks and requires several weeks or longer to recover. This surgery might improve your quality of life and prolong your survival if you have renal (kidney) cancer.
Options include a partial nephrectomy (removing a portion of one of your kidneys) or a complete nephrectomy (removing one of your kidneys).
This article describes the benefits, survival, and expectations after a kidney removal.
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Nephrectomy Life Expectancy Statistics
While each individual is different, some statistics are available about the average life expectancy after kidney removal. Life expectancy after nephrectomy depends on several factors, including whether you’ve had partial or total kidney removal, the health of the remaining kidney, and the underlying disease.
Living with only one kidney can have an impact on your health if your remaining kidney is not fully healthy.
Life Expectancy and Survival Rates
Life expectancy and survival rates are defined as follows:
Life expectancy is the amount of time, often expressed in years, a person is expected to live after receiving a diagnosis or having a type of medical intervention.
Survival is the percentage of individuals who survive for a specified period of time after a particular diagnosis or treatment, such as 75% for five years. Relative survival compares people with the condition to those without the condition.
Partial Kidney Removal
Partial kidney removal is sometimes done with a minimally invasive technique. Removal of only part of the kidney can be an option when a tumor is localized to one area of the kidney. It’s estimated the five-year survival after partial nephrectomy for renal cancer ranges from 82.6% to 97.9%.
Total Kidney Removal
Total kidney removal is usually a more invasive surgery than partial kidney removal. This option is usually necesarry when the cancer has spread throughout the kidney. It’s estimated that the five-year survival rate after total nephrectomy is 82.8%.
Cancer, Life Expectancy, and Kidney Removal
Survival with kidney cancer varies by disease and by disease stage. Generally, a person who has a small kidney tumor that hasn’t spread would be expected to have a longer survival than someone who has advanced kidney cancer that has spread beyond the kidney.
Treatment for renal cancer can prolong survival and improve quality of life. The treatment that your oncologist (cancer specialist) recommends for you is based on the most beneficial intervention for your type of cancer and the grade and stage of your cancer.
Survival Statistics
According to the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, the overall relative five-year survival after kidney cancer diagnosis is 77.6%.
The relative five-year survival is further reported based on how far the cancer has spread at the time of diagnosis:
Localized (cancer is confined to the kidney) 92.9%
Regional (cancer has spread to nearby structures and lymph nodes) 73.8%
Distant (cancer has spread to other organs) 17.4%
Survival After Nephrectomy for Kidney Cancer
The survival after nephrectomy for kidney cancer varies by cancer stage. A large retrospective study included 87,225 surgically treated people who had renal cell cancer (a common type of kidney cancer).
The study found that cancer-specific survival for people with stages 1 or 2 cancer remained the same after nephrectomy. Five-year cancer-specific survival was increased for people with stages 3 or 4 renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy.
It should be noted that this study used data from 2004 to 2015, which does not reflect advancements made in treating kidney cancer after that time.
Factors Influencing Survival Rates
The survival rate after kidney removal depends on many factors, and the reason for kidney removal affects survival. For example, kidney donors have a better life expectancy than those who have a kidney removed as treatment for a disease.
According to a large study, donating a kidney is estimated to reduce life expectancy by 0.5 to 1 year in most donors. The most common cause of death was end-stage renal disease (ESRD) of the remaining kidney. Smoking and having obesity were risk factors for ESRD.
Some symptoms and complications are associated with having only one kidney, but many people will not experience any problems living with a single kidney.
Effects of having one kidney vs. both can include hypertension (high blood pressure), inefficient removal of waste from the body, and an increased risk of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication with high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Blood and urine tests can be used to monitor kidney function.
Complications can often be prevented by avoiding medications that affect kidney function or taking adjusted doses of medications metabolized (broken down) by the kidneys. Dietary changes may include avoiding excess salt and drinking enough water to prevent dehydration. You also might need to take medication to help manage your blood pressure.
Related: Kidney Cancer Staging
Summary
Kidney removal is sometimes recommended as a treatment for some types of kidney cancer. Survival after a diagnosis of kidney cancer is influenced by the cancer type, grade, and stage. The best treatment for you is the one that would give you the best outcome—which means achieving the optimal number of years of life expectancy and a high chance of survival.
Kidney removal is a major surgery, and you can expect several weeks of recovery after your surgery. You might be able to rely on one kidney, particularly if your other kidney is healthy. However, you will need to make some adjustments to your diet and lifestyle after kidney removal.
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