CT/MRI in staging renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the eighth most common malignancy. It accounts for approximately 3% of newly diagnosed cancers and has been reported to occur in 11 out of 100000 individuals. The incidence of RCC has increased by 40% in the USA from 1974 to 1990. There appears to be a true increase in the incidence of RCC over and above that attributable to the increased number detected by abdominal cross-sectional imaging. This increase has been accompanied by improved 5-year survival as the tumors detected by imaging are diagnosed at an earlier stage when they are still resectable. The male to female ratio is approximately 2:1; the majority present in the fifth to seventh decade of life and the racial distribution is equal. The majority of cases occur sporadically, but predisposing factors can sometimes be identified. RCC occurs in about 36% of patients with von Hippel–Lindau disease and invasive RCC is three to six times more common among long-term dialysis patients than in the general population.