| pubmed-article:10501702 | pubmed:abstractText | The observation of extremely variable clinical courses for patients with renal cell carcinomas of an identical pathological stage as well as a comparable histological differentiation resp. growth pattern strongly indicates the existence of tumors harboring different biological aggressiveness. Currently available histopathological classification systems do not predict the biological behaviour of renal cell cancer as sufficiently as the establishment of a therapeutical strategy adjusted to the individual patient would require. The need for a more refined characterization of the biological potential of the individual tumor results from the introduction of modified operative strategies as organ-preserving surgery, for example, as well as from the recently suggested application of an adjuvant systemic therapy adapted to the individual risk for tumor recurrence resp. the development of progressive disease. Therefore, the clinically orientated basic scientist and the basic scientifically orientated clinician intensively try to determine prognostically important biological variables which would allow to better predict the biological aggressiveness of a single tumor in addition to "classical" prognostic parameters (T-stage, histological grading, growth patterns). In this context, several biological parameters including the identification of alterations on the DNA-, RNA- and protein level have been discussed as possible biological prognostic markers for renal cell cancer. The present review tries to reflect currently available biological characteristics of RCC which might gain clinical importance with regard to an individualized therapy in the near future. | lld:pubmed |
