Ultrasound-Guided Renal Mass Biopsy and Its Clinical Utility: A Single-Centre Experience

Renal mass biopsy (RMB) is still underutilized, partially because many urologists argue that it does not substantially influence the management of renal masses. We sought to evaluate the influence of RMB on the management of renal tumours in our institution.

A total of 387 RMBs performed at our institution from January 2016 to June 2020 were included. Patient demographics, mass size, biopsy result, and subsequent clinical management were retrospectively reviewed.

The mean mass size was 47.8 mm. Fifty-six percentage of tumours ≤40 mm (247) and 8% of tumours >40 mm (64) were biopsied. Seventy-six RMBs of disseminated tumours were performed. 14.9% of RMBs were non-diagnostic, and 27.1% of RMBs of tumours ≤40 mm were benign. The majority of tumours with first non-diagnostic RMB followed by histopathological verification were found to be malignant. There was significantly more conservative management and no radical nephrectomies in the benign biopsy group. One case of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥2 complication occurred.

RMB result affects treatment decisions. Ultrasound-guided RMB is a safe procedure, and performing biopsies of tumours ≤40 mm may reduce the number of unnecessary interventions. Non-diagnostic RMBs should be repeated or treated as malignant.