Renal Cell Carcinoma Subtypes and Associated Renal Malignancies: A Pictorial Review—Part I

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 3% of all adult malignancies, with clear cell subtype representing the majority of these cases. In the United States, the number of new cases of kidney and renal pelvis cancers was 15.6 per 100,000 men and women per year. Although the incidence of RCC has been increasing for several years, the landscape of RCC has changed significantly due to the use of highly sensitive imaging modalities. The percentage of early-stage T1 Kidney cancers has increased from 43% to more than 60% over the past two decades, with a 5-year survival rate of more than 90% for these early-stage tumors.1 As diagnostic imaging plays a significant role in the detection and management of these cancers, a fundamental understanding of RCC and its various subtypes is essential for all medical imaging specialists.