Cancer of the kidney amounts to two percent of the total human cancer burden with approximately 1,90,000 new cases diagnosed each year.They occur in all world regions, with preference for developed countries.Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality.Recent advances in imaging permit early diagnosis of renal cell carcinomas and facilitate optimal management.The pattern of somatic mutations in kidney tumours has been extensively investigated and has become, in addition to histopathology, a major criterion for classification.This article gives an overview on the histological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma, including new subtypes recognized in the 2004 World Health Organization classification of renal tumours.The general applications of immunohistochemistry and cytogenetics are also reviewed with their implications in tumour diagnosis and prognosis.
Jose et al. (Wed,) studied this question.