Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Kidney Cysts
A cyst is a fluid-filled sac. You may get simple kidney cysts as you age; they are usually harmless. There are also some diseases which cause kidney cysts. One type is polycystic kidney disease (PKD). It runs in families. In PKD, many cysts grow in the kidneys. This can enlarge the kidneys and make them work poorly. About half of people with the most common type of PKD end up with kidney failure. PKD also causes cysts in other parts of the body, such as the liver.
Often, there are no symptoms at first. Later, symptoms include:
- Pain in the back and lower sides
- Headaches
- Blood in the urine
Doctors diagnose PKD with imaging tests and family history. There is no cure. Treatments can help with symptoms and complications. They include medicines and lifestyle changes, and if there is kidney failure, dialysis or kidney transplants.
Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) happens in people who have chronic kidney disease, especially if they are on dialysis. Unlike PKD, the kidneys are normal sized, and cysts do not form in other parts of the body. ACKD often has no symptoms. Usually, the cysts are harmless and do not need treatment. If they do cause complications, treatments include medicines, draining the cysts, or surgery.
It sits within Kidneys and Urinary System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Kidney Cysts
56 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- A Study to See if Tolvaptan is Safe in Infants and Children Who at Enrollment Are 28 Days to Less Than 18 Years Old With Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
- Genetic Analysis of Birt Hogg-Dube Syndrome and Characterization of Predisposition to Kidney CancerNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
- ARPKD Database StudyChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Surveillance of Complex Renal Cysts - The SOCRATIC StudyUniversité de Sherbrooke
- 68Ga-NYM096 PET/ CT for the Detection of ccRCC in Presurgical Patients With Complex Cystic Renal LeisionPeking Union Medical College Hospital
- Di-PKD: A Pilot Trial of Dietary Intervention in Patients With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney DiseaseLoma Linda University
Research already completed
- Urine Albumin/Creatinine Ratio and Renal Function Differences in Phenotypes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.Uşak University
- Evaluation of Ultra-portable Ultrasound in General PracticeHospices Civils de Lyon
- Hereditary Tubulointerstitial NephritisAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- LeukoSEQ: Whole Genome Sequencing as a First-Line Diagnostic Tool for LeukodystrophiesChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia
- The CT-based Deep Learning Model Predicts Complications in Partial NephrectomyDu Lingzhi
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Acquired Cystic Kidney DiseaseNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Kidney CystsAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Diagnosis and Tests
- Kidney Tests: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
- Renal CystsRadiological Society of North America
Living With
- Living with PKDPKD Foundation
Genetics
- Meckel syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Medullary cystic kidney disease type 1: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Nephronophthisis: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Polycystic kidney disease: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Statistics and Research
- Kidney Disease Statistics for the United StatesNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Kidney Diseases, CysticNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Polycystic Kidney DiseasesNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Kidney Diseases, Cystic. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Kidney Cysts, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.