Molecular genetics of human renal cell tumours

This review discusses the impact of molecular genetics on the diagnosis and prognosis of renal cell tumours as well as the genetic changes in renal cell tumours associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease and end-stage kidney disease. The use of molecular techniques enables the division of renal cell tumours into genetically and biologically well defined entities. The new classification system distinguishes between papillary renal cell tumours, including papillary renal cell adenoma and papillary renal cell carcinoma, nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma, chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and renal oncocytoma. The advantage of the new classification system is that genetic markers, in contrast to the tumour phenotype, are constant during tumour progression and allow a precise diagnosis even from a small biopsy specimen.