Advanced kidney cancer
You might have targeted and immunotherapy drugs if the cancer has spread away from your kidney (advanced kidney cancer). Which drugs you have depends on the type of kidney cancer. It also depends on what treatment you have already had.
This page is about targeted and immunotherapy drugs for advanced kidney cancer. You may also have immunotherapy after surgery for kidney cancer if there is a high chance of it coming back.
Read about having immunotherapy for kidney cancer that is at high risk of coming back
Targeted cancer drugs target the differences in cancer cells. These differences help them grow and survive. Other drugs help the immune system attack cancer. These are called immunotherapies.
Some drugs work in more ways than one. They target the differences in cancer cells and work with the immune system.
Targeted and immunotherapy drugs can help some people with advanced kidney cancer. Kidney cancer may be advanced when you are first diagnosed. Or it has come back after previous treatment.
These treatments are unlikely to cure the cancer, but they may help to control it for a time and help some people live longer.
Different treatments work for different people. Your doctor will look at a number of factors to decide which treatment is best for you. This includes:
the type of kidney cells the cancer has started in
how abnormal the cells look (grade) and whether they are growing fast or slow
how far the cancer has grown or spread (the stage)
your symptoms
your general health
the treatments you have had already
For advanced kidney cancer you might have a targeted cancer drug, an immunotherapy drug or both together. Sometimes you might have 2 targeted drugs or 2 immunotherapy drugs together. The first course of drug treatment you have is the first line treatment.
You might have one of these targeted drugs as your first line treatment:
sunitinib (Sutent)
pazopanib (Votrient)
tivozanib (Fotivda)
cabozantinib (Cabometyz)
Your doctor may recommend you have nivolumab (Opdivo) with ipilimumab (Yervoy) as first line treatment. These are both immunotherapy drugs.
Sometimes you may have treatment with a targeted drug and an immunotherapy drug. This could be:
avelumab (Bavencio) with axitinib (Inlyta)
lenvatinib (Kisplyx) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
cabozantinib with nivolumab
Pembrolizumab with axitinib is also currently approved for use on the NHS in Scotland.
If the cancer starts growing again, your doctor may recommend another treatment. This is called second line treatment. If necessary you may have a third line treatment afterwards.
You may have one of the following drugs as a second or third line treatment:
cabozantinib
axitinib
everolimus (Afinitor)
lenvatinib (Kisplyx) with everolimus
If you haven't had an immunotherapy drug already you may have nivolumab as a second or third line treatment.
You may have your treatment as:
tablets or capsules
through a tube into your bloodstream
a combination of tablets or capsules and into your bloodstream
How you have the treatment depends on which drugs you have.
Read about how you have cancer drugs
Targeted therapy drugs and immunotherapy drugs can cause different side effects. Some of these can be serious. Your doctor or nurse will talk to you about this. Always tell them about any side effects you have and follow the advice they give you.
Go to our A to Z list of cancer drugs to read about the drugs on this page and their side effects.
Researchers continue to look at different targeted and immunotherapy drugs and how they are given.
This includes:
new drugs
different combinations of existing drugs
combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy
whether immunotherapy drugs can be given less often
You may have treatment for advanced cancer as part of a clinical trial.
Last reviewed: 29 Jan 2024
Next review due: 29 Jan 2027
Advanced kidney cancer means it has spread beyond the lymph nodes to other areas of the body such as the lungs or bones. Treatment aims to control the cancer and relieve symptoms.
Some treatments can control advanced kidney cancer for a time and reduce symptoms. What treatment you have depends on how many parts of the body the cancer has spread to and how quickly it has spread.
There are many cancer drugs, cancer drug combinations and they have individual side effects.
Coping with advanced kidney cancer can be extremely difficult. As well as family and friends, there are people at the hospital and in your community who can help support you.
Researchers are currently looking at ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer. They are also looking to see if there are better ways to check if cancer treatments are working.
Kidney cancer is cancer that starts in the kidneys. The kidneys filter waste products out of your blood as urine. Kidney cancer develops when abnormal cells in either of the kidneys start to divide and grow in an uncontrolled way.
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What to ask your doctor about clinical trials.
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