[Active surveillance for renal cell carcinoma]

The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and especially that of small RCCs is increasing. However, not all tumours are malignant and not all malignant tumours are RCCs. Although partial nephrectomy is the therapeutic standard of care, an increasing number of patients is being treated with cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, or active surveillance. The latter options require a pretherapeutic tumour biopsy. Approximately 85% of all biopsies can distinguish benign from malignant tumours. In the case of a RCC, histological subtype and grading are correctly diagnosed in 85% and 65%, respectively. However, tumour growth and metastasis in patients undergoing active surveillance cannot be predicted. A later tumour growth is the main trigger to change to active therapy. In this paper the results of tumour biopsy and active surveillance of patients with a renal mass are presented.