Renal cell carcinoma: histological classification and correlation with imaging findings

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the seventh most common histological type of cancer in the Western world and has shown a sustained increase in its prevalence. The histological classification of RCCs is of utmost importance, considering the significant prognostic and therapeutic implications of its histological subtypes. Imaging methods play an outstanding role in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of RCC. Clear cell, papillary and chromophobe are the most common histological subtypes of RCC, and their preoperative radiological characterization, either followed or not by confirmatory percutaneous biopsy, may be particularly useful in cases of poor surgical condition, metastatic disease, central mass in a solitary kidney, and in patients eligible for molecular targeted therapy. New strategies recently developed for treating renal cancer, such as cryo and radiofrequency ablation, molecularly targeted therapy and active surveillance also require appropriate preoperative characterization of renal masses. Less common histological types, although sharing nonspecific imaging features, may be suspected on the basis of clinical and epidemiological data. The present study is aimed at reviewing the main clinical and imaging findings of histological RCC subtypes.

Impact of histological subtype on outcomes of renal cell carcinoma patients

“…On the other hand, RCCs can be classified broadly into clear cell and non-clear cell carcinomas [3]; non-clear cell histologies include papillary carcinoma, chromophobe carcinoma and collecting duct carcinoma in addition to some other rarer variants [4,5]. Clear cell carcinoma comprises the majority of RCC cases and account for approximately 70-75% of all cases [6][7][8].…”

Cabozantinib in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma: clinical trial evidence and experience

“…The most common of its variants are clearcell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and papillary and chromophobe RCC, which together comprise 90% of all cases of RCC [Muglia et al 2015]. Up to one-third of patients present with an initial diagnosis of metastatic disease and one third of patients with initial localized disease exhibit metastatic relapse after surgical removal of the tumor .…”

The Clinicopathological Significance of Epigenetic Silencing of VHL Promoter and Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

“…Reportedly, RCC has several histological types, the most common histotypes of whose consist of clear cell RCC (ccRCC) representing 75% of the cases, papillary RCC (pRCC) in 10% of the cases, and chromophobe RCC constituting 5% of the cases, [2]. Generally, RCC is asymptomatic in its early stages, and more than 50% of RCCs are detected incidentally by examinations, such as ultrasound and computed tomography (CT).…”