Multicentricity in renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To find the incidence of multicentric renal cell carcinoma and its possible relationship to the other clinical and pathologic findings.

Methods: A total of 40 patients with renal cell carcinoma underwent radical nephrectomy between March 1994 and January 1996 at Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Urology. All of the materials were examined grossly and histologically by the same pathologist.

Results: Among 40 kidneys 4 had satellite carcinoma (10%), 3 of them had been shown by preoperative imaging techniques, 1 was found histopathologically.

Conclusion: If preoperative imaging techniques do not show additional lesion in the kidney besides the small early stage primary in incidentally discovered patients, the incidence of satellite renal cell carcinoma is low enough to justify nephron sparing surgery.