In a case series of 34 patients, Davis and colleagues reported the following signs and symptoms:

- macroscopically visible (gross) hematuria (60%)

- abdominal or back/flank pain (50%)

- significant weight loss (25%)

Other researchers have reported a palpable renal mass or enlarged lymph nodes.

Renal medullary carcinoma has been termed "the seventh sickle cell nephropathy" because it is found almost exclusively in individuals with sickle cell trait or occasionally in those with sickle cell disease.

Historically, medical practitioners expected a person to present with three findings. This classic triad is 1: haematuria, which is when there is blood present in the urine, 2: flank pain, which is pain on the side of the body between the hip and ribs, and 3: an abdominal mass, similar to bloating but larger. It is now known that this classic triad of symptoms only occurs in 10–15% of cases, and is usually indicative that the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is in an advanced stage. Today, RCC is often asymptomatic (meaning few to no symptoms) and is generally detected incidentally when a person is being examined for other ailments.

Other signs and symptom may include haematuria; loin pain; abdominal mass; malaise, which is a general feeling of unwellness; weight loss and/or loss of appetite; anaemia resulting from depression of erythropoietin; erythrocytosis (increased production of red blood cells) due to increased erythropoietin secretion; varicocele, which is seen in males as an enlargement of the pampiniform plexus of veins draining the testis (more often the left testis) hypertension (high blood pressure) resulting from secretion of renin by the tumour; hypercalcemia, which is elevation of calcium levels in the blood; sleep disturbance or night sweats; recurrent fevers; and chronic fatigue.

Tubulocystic renal cell carcinoma is rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, a part of the very small tubes in the kidney that transport primary urine. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, responsible for approximately 90–95% of cases.

Initial treatment is most commonly either partial or complete removal of the affected kidney(s). Where the cancer has not metastasised (spread to other organs) or burrowed deeper into the tissues of the kidney, the 5-year survival rate is 65–90%, but this is lowered considerably when the cancer has spread.

The body is remarkably good at hiding the symptoms and as a result people with RCC often have advanced disease by the time it is discovered. The initial symptoms of RCC often include blood in the urine (occurring in 40% of affected persons at the time they first seek medical attention), flank pain (40%), a mass in the abdomen or flank (25%), weight loss (33%), fever (20%), high blood pressure (20%), night sweats and generally feeling unwell. When RCC metastasises, it most commonly spreads to the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, adrenal glands, brain or bones. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy have improved the outlook for metastatic RCC.

RCC is also associated with a number of paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) which are conditions caused by either the hormones produced by the tumour or by the body's attack on the tumour and are present in about 20% of those with RCC. These syndromes most commonly affect tissues which have not been invaded by the cancer. The most common PNSs seen in people with RCC are: high blood calcium levels, polycythaemia (the opposite of anemia, due to an overproduction of the hormone erythropoietin), thrombocytosis (too many platelets in the blood, leading to an increased tendency for blood clotting and bleeds) and secondary amyloidosis.

Papillary renal cell carcinomas are subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Thyroid-like follicular renal cell carcinoma is rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma.

MTSCC has a gross appearance close to papillary RCC. Microscopically, it has three histologic components: mucin, tumor cells forming tubules, and spindle cells. It is characterized by the proliferation of cuboidal and spindle cells arranged in tubular or sheet-like arrays, typically with a mucinous or myxoid background.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), that is included in the 2004 WHO classification of RCC. MTSCC is a rare neoplasm and is considered as a low-grade entity. It may be a variant of papillary RCC. This tumor occurs throughout life (age range 17–82 years) and is more frequent in females.

Typical gross features include large size (mean diameter 11.3 cm), a mucoid texture, foci of necrosis, and prominent cyst formation.

Clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma, abbreviated CCPRCC and also known as clear cell tubulopapillary renal cell carcinoma, is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) that has microscopic morphologic features of papillary renal cell carcinoma and clear cell renal cell carcinoma, yet is pathologically distinct based on molecular changes and immunohistochemistry.

The Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (CCRCC) is a type of renal cell carcinoma.

Renal oncocytomas are often asymptomatic and are frequently discovered by chance on a CT or ultrasound of the abdomen. Possible signs and symptoms of a renal oncocytoma include blood in the urine, flank pain, and an abdominal mass.

In addition to renal cell carcinoma and renal pelvis carcinoma, other, less common types of kidney cancer include:

- Squamous cell carcinoma

- Juxtaglomerular cell tumor (reninoma)

- Angiomyolipoma

- Bellini duct carcinoma

- Clear-cell sarcoma of the kidney

- Mesoblastic nephroma

- Wilms' tumor, usually is reported in children under the age of 5.

- Mixed epithelial stromal tumor

Rarely, some other types of cancer and potentially cancerous tumors that more usually originate elsewhere can originate in the kidneys. These include:

- Clear cell adenocarcinoma

- Transitional cell carcinoma

- Inverted papilloma

- Renal lymphoma

- Teratoma

- Carcinosarcoma

- Carcinoid tumor of the renal pelvis

Cancer in the kidney may also be secondary, the result of metastasis from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body.

The symptoms may be similar to those classically associated with renal cell carcinoma, and may include polycythemia, abdominal pain, hematuria and a palpable mass. Mean age at onset is around 40 years with a range of 5 to 83 years and the mean size of the tumour is 5.5 cm with a range 0.3 to 15 cm (1). Polycythemia is more frequent in MA than in any other type of renal tumour. Of further relevance is that this tumour is more commonly calcified than any other kidney neoplasm. Surgery is curative and no other treatment is recommended. There is so far no evidence of metastases or local recurrence.

The most common signs and symptoms of kidney cancer are a mass in the abdomen and/or blood in the urine (or hematuria). Other symptoms may include tiredness, loss of appetite, weight loss, a high temperature and heavy sweating, and persistent pain in the abdomen. However, many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions, and there may also be no signs or symptoms in a person with kidney cancer, especially in the early stages of the disease.

Acquired cystic kidney disease-associated renal cell carcinoma is rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma.

A renal oncocytoma is a tumour of the kidney made up of oncocytes, a special kind of cell.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) is an extremely rare type of kidney cancer comprising 3% of all pediatric renal tumours. Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney can spread from the kidney to other organs, most commonly the bone, but also including the lungs, brain, and soft tissues of the body.

Despite the similarities in names, "clear cell sarcoma of the kidney" is unrelated to clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue, also known as malignant melanoma of soft parts.

Generally, the cells have a clear cytoplasm, are surrounded by a distinct cell membrane and contain round and uniform nuclei.

Metanephric adenoma (MA)is a rare, benign tumour of the kidney, that can have a microscopic appearance similar to a nephroblastoma (Wilms tumours), or a papillary renal cell carcinoma.

It should not be confused with the pathologically unrelated, yet similar sounding, "mesonephric adenoma".

A Clear-cell carcinoma is a carcinoma (i.e. not a sarcoma) showing clear cells.

"A rare type of tumor, usually of the female genital tract, in which the insides of the cells look clear when viewed under a microscope. Also called clear cell adenocarcinoma and mesonephroma."

Examples :

- Clear cell renal cell carcinoma ~ clear cell kidney cancer

- Uterine clear-cell carcinoma ~ clear cell endometrial cancer

- Clear-cell ovarian carcinoma

CCPRCC classically has apical nuclei, i.e. the nucleus is adjacent to the luminal aspect.

In most glandular structures the nuclei are usually basally located, i.e. in the cytoplasm adjacent to the basement membrane.

They typically stain with CK7 and do not stain with TFE3 and AMACR.

Patients typically present with a non-productive cough and weight loss.

In the ovary, embryonal carcinoma is quite rare, amounting to approximately three percent of ovarian germ cell tumours. The median age at diagnosis is 15 years. Symptoms and signs are varied, and may include sexual precocity and abnormal (increased, reduced or absent) uterine bleeding.

There may be elevations in serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels but it would be in association with other tumors, (e.g. yolk sac tumor) because they themselves do not produce the serum markers. At surgery, there is extension of the tumour beyond the ovary in forty percent of cases. They are generally large, unilateral tumours, with a median diameter of 17 centimetres. Long-term survival has improved following the advent of chemotherapy. The gross and histologic features of this tumour are similar to that seen in the testis.