Kidney cancer and some kidney cancer treatments can cause changes in skin color. These changes may help your care team understand what’s happening in your body and what may be causing your symptoms. That’s why it’s important to tell your healthcare providers about any changes you notice.

Here’s what you need to know about how kidney cancer and its treatment options may affect the color of your skin.

Yellow Skin and Kidney Cancer

Yellow skin could be caused by a few different factors connected to kidney cancer. Your doctor may need to run some tests to find out what’s causing the change.

Yellowing skin might be harder to spot if you have a darker skin tone. You may see yellow skin changes more clearly on your nailbeds or the whites of your eyes, as these will sometimes change color, too.

Jaundice

If you notice that your skin, the whites of your eyes, or your nailbeds have a yellow tinge, you might have jaundice. Jaundice can develop when your liver can’t process a yellowish substance called bilirubin. Bilirubin can then build up in your blood vessels and body tissues.

Yellow skin isn’t common with kidney cancer. Most of the time, if jaundice happens with kidney cancer, it’s because the cancer has metastasized (spread) to the liver. Liver metastasis affects how the liver works and can cause jaundice.

In rare cases, people with kidney cancer may develop jaundice because of a paraneoplastic syndrome. Paraneoplastic syndromes are uncommon symptoms that can happen when cancer changes how the body works, often by affecting the immune system.

Stauffer syndrome is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common type of kidney cancer. It can sometimes lead to jaundice.

Kidney Problems

Yellow skin can also be a sign that your kidneys aren’t working well because of kidney cancer or chronic kidney disease. If your kidneys are struggling to remove waste products called urochromes, they can build up in your skin and make it look yellow.

Pale Skin and Kidney Cancer

Some people with kidney cancer notice that their skin looks lighter. This can be caused by several factors.

Anemia

Kidney cancer can also cause anemia, which means you don’t have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body. Anemia can make your skin look pale. Your skin may also look slightly yellow, which is called sallow skin.

It may be harder to notice these skin changes if you have darker skin. However, you may see them in your mucous membranes (moist tissues that line body openings), such as:

• Your lips
• The inside of your mouth
• Your inner eyelids

Along with paler or yellowish skin, anemia can also make you feel weak or very tired.

Immunotherapy Side Effects

If you’re using immunotherapy to treat kidney cancer, it may cause you to lose pigmentation in your skin. Some people on immunotherapy develop vitiligo, a condition in which the immune system destroys skin cells that make pigment. Pigment is the substance that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color.

These changes can make your skin look nearly white or almost translucent. Losing skin pigment tends to be more obvious in people with darker skin, since there’s more contrast between the light patches and normal, darker skin.

Immunotherapy works by targeting certain types of molecules in cancer cells. If these molecules are also in skin cells, they may be damaged, too.

Your skin color may go back to normal once you complete immunotherapy treatment. Your doctor can help you understand which immunotherapies may come with the risk of skin pigment loss.

Kidney Problems

Pale skin can be a sign of poor kidney health. It may also be linked to anemia, which can develop when the kidneys aren’t working well.

Darker Skin and Kidney Cancer

If your skin gets darker while living with kidney cancer, it may be because of another paraneoplastic syndrome, malignant acanthosis nigricans. Malignant acanthosis nigricans can cause certain areas of your skin to darken, thicken, and feel like velvet.

Malignant acanthosis nigricans usually happens in places where your skin folds over itself or creases. It may also affect:

• The skin around your mouth
• Your mucous membranes
• The soles of your feet
• The palms of your hands

Skin affected by malignant acanthosis nigricans may also itch and develop an unpleasant odor.

Flushed Skin and Kidney Cancer

Flushed skin may happen with another type of paraneoplastic syndrome. Carcinoid syndrome can develop along with kidney cancer, but only in people living with rare carcinoid tumors. Recent medical reports still describe these tumors as very rare, with about 100 cases reported worldwide.

People with carcinoid syndrome may have skin flushing that comes and goes. Flushing usually lasts a few minutes, and it can affect the whole body or just one area.

Note that people with darker skin may notice that their skin looks darker or seems purplish, but in people with paler skin tones, flushed skin may appear red.

Mottled Skin and Kidney Cancer

If someone with advanced kidney cancer is nearing the end of life, their skin color may start to look mottled. This means the skin looks blotchy or discolored. Mottling can happen as blood flow in the body slows and changes.

Mottling often starts on the hands and feet. It may then move to the arms and legs. It’s considered a normal change at this stage.

Talk to Your Doctor if You Notice Skin Changes

If you or your loved one with kidney cancer notices discoloration in their skin, talk to your oncology team. It may give them useful information about changes in your condition, side effects of a treatment, or a serious complication.

Always tell your cancer team about new or worsening symptoms or side effects from kidney cancer or its treatment. They can help you figure out what’s causing the change and whether you need treatment. Getting answers can help you feel more prepared and supported.

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