What is transitional cell cancer of the kidney and ureter?

• The kidneys and the urinary system
• Transitional cells
• Transitional cell cancer of the kidney and ureter
• Risks and causes
• Symptoms
• Tests to diagnose transitional cell cancer
• More information

The kidney is part of the urinary system. This system filters waste products out of the blood and gets rid of them in the urine.

It is made up of

• Two kidneys
• Two ureters
• The bladder
• The prostate (in men)
• The urethra

The renal pelvis is in the middle of the kidney. Urine collects here and then drains through a tube called the ureter and into the bladder. When you empty your bladder, the urine leaves the body through a tube called the urethra.

There are many different types of cells in the body, each with a particular job to do. Transitional cells are able to change shape and stretch. They make up the lining of the renal pelvis, ureters, bladder and the urethra. The lining of these organs needs cells that can stretch so they can expand when urine is stored in them or flows through them.

Transitional cell cancer develops in the part of the kidney called the renal pelvis. It is rare and only about 7 out of 100 kidney cancers (7%) diagnosed in the UK are transitional cell cancers. The most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell cancer. You can find information about renal cell cancer in the kidney cancer section.

Transitional cell cancer of the ureter is even more uncommon than transitional cell cancer of the kidney. TCC of the kidney is 4 times more common than cancer of the ureter.

Transitional cell cancers of the bladder are the most common type of bladder cancer. You can find more information about TCC of the bladder in the bladder cancer section.

We don’t know what causes most transitional cell cancers. But there are a number of factors that may increase your risk. These include

• Smoking cigarettes
• Working with particular chemicals including industrial dyes, rubber, plastics, aluminium and pesticides
• Some types of medicines – for example some painkillers (phenacetin) and cyclophosphamide

You can find out more about chemicals that may increase the risk of bladder cancer in the bladder cancer risks and causes section.

The symptoms of transitional cell cancer of the kidney are similar to those of other types of kidney cancer. They include blood in the urine and pain in your back, between the lower ribs, and the top of your hip bone.

You may also need to pass urine very often and have pain when passing urine.

The tests that you have to diagnose TCC may include

• Urine tests
• Ureteroscopy
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
• Retrograde pyelography
• CT scan
• MRI scan
• Chest X-ray

For a ureteroscopy, your doctor puts a flexible or rigid telescope into your urethra and extends the tip of the scope into the bladder and the ureter. This means they can see the inside of the ureter and take biopsies if they need to. You have this test under a general anaesthetic.

You may have retrograde pyelography at the same time as the ureteroscopy. The doctor puts a flexible tube (catheter) into your bladder and injects dye into it. Then they take a number of X-rays.

There is detailed information about intravenous pyelogram (IVP), having a CT scan, having an MRI scan and about having a chest X-ray in our section about cancer tests.

There is a separate question and answer in this section about the treatment for transitional cell cancer of the kidney and ureter.