Kidney Cancer Usually Does Not Show Symptoms At First

According to the Mayo Clinic, kidney cancer rarely causes signs or symptoms in its early stages.

However, in the later stages, the most common sign of both renal cell and transitional cell cancers is blood in the urine (hematuria).

Other possible signs and symptoms may include:

  • A pain in the back just below the ribs that doesn't go away

  • A mass in the area of the kidneys that's discovered during an examination
  • Weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Intermittent fever
  • Pain in other parts of the body if the cancer has metastasized

Wilms' tumor (the form of kidney cancer generally seen in children) usually has no symptoms.