Active surveillance for kidney cancer

One option for some patients with small kidney tumors (those less than 3 cm, which is a little over an inch), may be to give no treatment at first and watch the tumor to see if it grows. Several studies have looked at this. The tumors are watched carefully and if they grow fast or get larger than 4 cm − a little over 1 ½ inches − they are removed. This approach is most often used in elderly or frail patients as it avoids the risks of treatment. Up to 3 in 10 of these small tumors turn out to not be cancers at all. Watching them closely for a time helps doctors decide which tumors are more likely to be cancer based on their growth pattern. This approach can allow some patients to avoid surgery or other treatments. Often, a biopsy is done before deciding to watch the tumor to see if the growth is really cancer.