Critical Reviews in Computed Tomography, 44(4):229-249 (2003).
Yoon J, Herts BR.
The widespread availability and increased use of cross-sectional imaging in the abdomen for a variety of signs and symptoms has led to an increased detection of renal neoplasms.1 Not only are incidentally discovered lesions typically lower grade than those found in symptomatic patients, they are often amenable to nephron-sparing surgery, both contributing to better survival.2'3 Advances in surgical techniques have given urologists several choices for treating renal tumors: open total or partial nephrec-tomy, laparoscopic total or partial nephrectomy, and laparoscopic or percutaneous ablative therapies (cryoablation or radiofrequency ablation). Proper staging of renal tumors is essential not only for prognosis in renal tumors but also in guiding appropriate therapy. In 1997, the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) revised the primary tumor, lymph nodes, metastases (TNM) staging criteria for renal cell carcinoma to provide a more accurate prognosis based on the stage of the tumor at presentation.
In this article, we will review the state-of-the-art helical computed tomography (CT) techniques for renal imaging and the 1997 revised TNM staging classification for renal cell carcinoma. We will review the CT manifestations and clinical features of localized, regional, and metastatic disease in patients with renal cell carcinoma.