Commentary: Partial Nephrectomy for the Management of Small Renal Masses

Abstract

It is estimated that approximately 20% of SRMs are benign. The majority (55-60%) of those considered “malignant” exhibit a rather indolent clinical behaviour and only about 20-25% demonstrate an aggressive clinical course. The risk of malignancy is related to the diameter of a tumour. It has been shown that 46% of tumours smaller than 1 cm in diameter are benign and only 2.3% of them are high grade [6]. It has also been estimated that an increase of 1cm in diameter correlates with a 16% increase in the risk of malignancy [7].