A review of prognostic pathologic features and algorithms for patients treated surgically for renal cell carcinoma

Pathologic features that are important in outcome prediction for patients who are treated surgically for renal cell carcinoma are reviewed, including histologic subtype, sarcomatoid differentiation, the TNM classification, primary tumor size, nuclear grade, and histologic tumor necrosis. How these pathologic features have been incorporated into prognostic algorithms that were developed by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, and Mayo Clinic are examined.