title: Approach to the small renal mass: to treat or not to treat.
abstract: Accurately conveying the benefits and risks of treatment interventions to patients diagnosed with small renal masses (SRMs) is essential to appropriately identify which patients will achieve better oncologic outcomes and confer a survival advantage from primary therapy. Treatment decisions to determine the ideal management with nephrectomy, thermal ablation, or active surveillance for patients diagnosed with an SRM remain highly complex. Existing prediction tools that incorporate various key clinical variables may facilitate an informed decision about the best management of SRM by more appropriately selecting treatment individualized to the characteristics of the SRM and the patient's clinical characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street Southwest, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Simon P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: R Houston
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D018579:Patient Selection; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D047368:Tumor Burden; D057832:Watchful Waiting / Q000379:methods*