NKCA FAQs

The National Kidney Cancer Audit (NKCA) evaluates patterns of care and outcomes for people diagnosed with kidney cancer in England and Wales. It aims to help NHS organisations benchmark their kidney cancer care against measurable standards, to identify unwarranted variation in measures of processes and outcomes, and to describe national levels and patterns of these measures in England and Wales.

The NKCA is driven by the Project Team members, supported by members of NATCAN, our Clinical Reference Group, our PPI group and our wider group of stakeholders (British Association of Urological Surgeons [BAUS], British Uro-oncology Group [BUG], HQIP, NHS England, Kidney Cancer UK, Action Kidney Cancer, Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Welsh Government).

The NKCA is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). The day-to-day running of the NKCA is based at the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) of The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSeng) and is managed by a project team including clinicians, audit experts, cancer information specialists and project management specialists. The audit is also delivered in partnership with NHS England, the Wales Cancer Network, the British Associations of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and The British Uro-oncology Group (BUG).  

Kidney cancer is one of the most common urological malignancies in the UK and its incidence has been steadily rising over the past two decades.

Historically, outcomes for kidney cancer have varied widely across regions, with differences in early diagnosis, access to specialist surgery, and use of systemic therapies. A National Kidney Cancer Audit is therefore essential to understand these variations and drive improvements in care. It is particularly important to focus on diagnosis, treatment, and how patients are managed throughout their care pathway. Although there have been significant advances in the kidney cancer field, further optimisation of treatment pathways and improvements in clinical efficiency could drive even better outcomes. To deliver the highest quality care, cancer services must have the appropriate expertise and support in place.

Kidney cancer charities also highlight that this national audit can help pinpoint new areas for research and generate better information for patients, ultimately supporting people to live longer, healthier lives.

Yes, the NKCA is included in the Quality Accounts lists for 25/26 and 26/27. 

The latest list of NKCA key COSD data items can be accessed on the NATCAN website at the following link: https://www.natcan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NKCA-Key-COSD-Data-Items-V2-January-2025-1.pdf

If a trust believes there is a discrepancy between their local data and what appears on the NKCA dashboard, we suggest first reviewing the indicator information and methodology supplement (see the FAQ titled “Where can I find the definitions for the Audit’s indicators and associated methodology?”).

It can also be helpful to look at data completeness on the dashboard, as incomplete data may affect how performance indicators are displayed.
If it looks like there may be a data submission issue, your team can contact the NDRS regional data liaison lead for support, and we’re happy to work with you to resolve queries together. For NDRS regional contact details, please see the NATCAN FAQ titled “How do I check completeness of cancer data submissions?”

Most of our performance indicators are adjusted for following risk factors: age, sex, ethnicity, co-morbidity and deprivation. For more details information, please refer to the State of the Nation Methodology Supplement.

The NKCA reports performance indicator results at the diagnosing or treating Trust (England) or diagnosing healthboard (Wales) level. For more detailed information, please refer to the State of the Nation Methodology Supplement.

The audit includes all patients with a primary diagnosis of kidney cancer (aged >=18 at the date of diagnosis), defined by ICD-10 code C64 malignant neoplasm of kidney, within the current report period in England and Wales.
The following patients are excluded from the audit:

1) Reported by death certificate only or data of diagnosis corresponds to date of death.

2) Diagnosed and treated outside of an NHS organisation in England or Wales.

The quarterly report is published every January, April, June and September. The next State of the Nation report will be published on Thursday 10th September 2026.

To receive the latest updates, you can subscribe to the Audit’s newsletter by emailing [email protected], and follow the Audit on LinkedIn @ National Kidney Cancer Audit (NKCA) and Bluesky @nkca-natcan.bsky.social.

You can also refer to the “Update” tab on the dashboard, which displays the date of the next scheduled release.

For the State of the Nation Report, indicator definitions are provided in the State of the Nation Methodology Supplement.

For the quarterly dashboard, indicator definitions can be found in the “Indicator information” tab for each selected indicator. Trusts are also encouraged to review the “Methods” tab for further details on the underlying methodology.

For the State of the Nation Report, indicator definitions are provided in the State of the Nation Methodology Supplement.

For the quarterly dashboard, indicator definitions can be found in the “Indicator information” tab for each selected indicator. Trusts are also encouraged to review the “Methods” tab for further details on the underlying methodology.

You can access the NKCA’s Outlier policy here:
https://www.natcan.org.uk/library/natcan-outlier-policy-nkca