A non-diploid DNA status is linked to poor prognosis in renal cell cancer.

Purpose: DNA ploidy measurement has earlier been suggested as a potentially powerful prognostic tool in many cancer types, but the role in renal tumors is still unclear.

Methods: To clarify its prognostic impact, we analyzed the DNA content of 1320 kidney tumors, including clear cell, papillary and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as well as renal oncocytoma and compared these data with clinico-pathological parameters and patient prognosis.

Results: A non-diploid DNA content was seen in 37% of 1276 analyzable renal tumors with a striking predominance in chromophobe carcinoma (74.