title: The changing evolution of renal tumours: a single center experience over a two-decade period.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the evolution of renal tumours treated in a single institution over a 2-decade period.
  
  
  METHODS
  729 patients surgically treated due to a renal tumour were included in this study. Age at diagnosis, gender, tumour size, TNM stage, percentage (%) of benign tumours, type of treatment, histologic subtype and mode of presentation were compared over 3 periods (1984-1992, 1993-1997, and 1998-2003).
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the period of the study, the median tumour size decreased from 7.5 to 6 cm while the rate of nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) increased from 1.6 to 19.6% and from 3.1 to 46.9% in all tumours and in tumours measuring less than 4 cm respectively. In this former group, the percentage of benign tumours increased from 6.3 to 15.2% while the percentage of radical nephrectomies decreased from 100% to 54.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We are treating today a great amount of small good prognosis renal tumors as well as an increasing percentage of benign tumours. In both cases, expanding the role of NSS will significantly reduce the rate of useless radical nephrectomies.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Urologie, CHU Pontchaillou, rue Henri Le Guilloux, 35033 Rennes, France. jean-jacques.patard2@libertysurf.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Patard
authors.forename: Hicham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tazi
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bensalah
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vincendeau
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rioux-Leclercq
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guillé
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lobel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors