A review of the evolving field of the management of renal masses has been published in the Canadian Urological Association Journal. In this review, an expert panel from the Kidney Cancer Research Network of Canada provided the following recommendations:

    • Renal mass biopsy should be offered to patients if the results of the biopsy will change the management of the renal mass
    • Biopsy should be discussed in management of small renal masses
    • Renal mass biopsy should include at least two to three core biopsies to sample the mass (fine-needle aspiration is not sufficient)
    • Cystic masses may be biopsied if there is sufficient solid mass within the cyst to be biopsied
    • Biopsy should not be performed for masses that appear to be angiomyolipomas on a CT/MRI scan
    • Renal mass biopsy should be performed when a pathology other than renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is suspected (eg, lymphoma, metastatic lesion).

These recommendations are in line with the American Urological Association (AUA) recommendations.

Read the review in the Canadian Urological Association Journal here