[New possibilities in diagnosis and therapy of renal carcinoma (author's transl)]

Abstract

A brief discussion of the aetiology and epidemiology of renal carcinomas is followed by a description of the clinical features. Attention is drawn to the significance of symptoms emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis. Intravenous urography still remains as the most important diagnostic procedure. It is pointed out that sonography and computer-tomography are now established as newer diagnostic methods, i.e. in distinguishing between cyst and tumor, in renal masses. Therapy, is still based upon surgical treatment. Transperitoneal, radical tumornephrectomy as compared with simple lumbar nephrectomy, has improved 5-year survival rate up to 16% especially in stage III tumors. Extracorporeal surgery for single kidney patients as hyperthermic surgery constitute new surgical methods, but only for specifically equiped urologic clinics. Embolisation of renal cell carcinoma is also used as therapeutic management in largely progressed tumors, and also used, as a preoperative measure, for the reducement of tumor size. Irradiation, before and after surgical treatment, as well as cytostatic therapy, revealed no significant improvement. We have reason to hope that progress in the research of hormonal- and immunotherapy will improve 5-year survival rate, in renal cell carcinoma.