title: Renal cell carcinoma: risk assessment and prognostic factors for newly diagnosed patients.
abstract: Surgical management of renal cell carcinoma is the most effective treatment for patients with localized disease. In patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, immune modulation-based therapies are typically used to improve cancer-specific survival. Similar to most cancers, tumor grade and stage are linked to the tumor's biologic potential. Integrating these factors with patients' performance status can help predict their long-term disease-free survival, the likelihood of tumor recurrence, and the median time to failure following surgery and immunotherapy. A novel integrated staging system and a postoperative renal cell carcinoma specific nomogram, along with standardized quality of life assessments have been shown to be useful clinical tools to aid in patient counseling, determining optimal follow-up imaging protocols, and identifying patients who might benefit from early enrollment in adjuvant therapy protocols. This article offers clinicians a review and summary of the most recent evidence-based research related to risk assessment among patients with newly diagnosed renal cell carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Surgery/Division of Urology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States. tdowns@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Tracy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Downs
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schultzel
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Zunera
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tahir
authors.forename: Georgia Robins
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Sadler
mesh_terms: D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment