Contemporary Renal Tumor Categorization With Biomarker and Translational Updates: A Practical Review

Renal tumor classification has evolved in recent decades, as evidenced by the comparable complexity of the 2016 revision to the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs. A recent expansion of the knowledge base surrounding the cells of origin and evolutionary genomic characteristics of renal tumors has led to molecular characterization of novel entities and enriched understanding of established entities. This pace of research and its implementation into clinical practice has again begun to surpass that of our own classification schemata, with significant discoveries having been made since the introduction of the 2016 revision to the World Health Organization classification. In particular, biomarkers for renal tumor diagnosis and prognosis are in translation for future clinical application.

To provide a brief framework for clinical characterization of renal tumors rooted in morphologic assessment, to briefly review the current and future status of renal tumor biomarkers with an emphasis on practical use of these ancillary tools for accurate diagnosis, and to discuss the impact of emerging technologies and clinical trials relevant to renal cell carcinoma classification and biomarker development.

We review recent literature relevant to renal tumor classification (including established and proposed entities), focusing on molecular characterization and biomarker assessment.

Accurate renal tumor diagnosis requires an up-to-date understanding of renal tumor classification, including an awareness of morphologic clues that should stimulate consideration of molecularly defined entities, as well as the ancillary biomarker testing required to confirm diagnoses.