Renal cell carcinoma represents a heterogeneous group of tumors, the most common of which is clear cell adenocarcinoma. The annual incidence of this tumor appears to be rising and approximately 12,000 individuals die from this cancer annually in the United States. One third of patients who present have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, and another 40% who undergo nephrectomy will ultimately develop this complication. Over the past 10 years, a significant amount of new information concerning the epidemiology, mole- lar and immunologic characteristics, and therapy for patients with these tumors has appeared. The recognition that inherited forms of renal cancer exist, and that chromosomal abn- malities can be identified in these tumors, suggested a genetic basis for renal cell carcinoma. The familial cancer syndrome, Von Hippel Lindau disease, provided the setting in which the genetic abnormalites associated with the development of renal cancer were first described. Abnormalities of the VHL gene have also been detected in sporadic clear cell carcinoma, and it has now been recognized that approximately 80 % of these tumors will demonstrate ch- acteristic alterations. Currently the functions of the VHL protein are being investigated, and the biology of clear cell carcinoma of the kidney is under study. Additionally, papillary carcinomas of the kidney appear to express different molecular defects, and these are now being unraveled.

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Part I. Introduction. The Epidemiology of Renal Cell Carcinoma, Joshua E. Muscat. The Pathology of Renal Neoplasms, Howard S. Levin and Jonathan L. Myles. Immunologic Response to Renal Cell Carcinoma, James H. Finke, Lisa Salvucci Kierstead, Elena Ranieri, and Walter J. Storkus. Molecular Mechanisms of Immune Dysfunction in Renal Cell Carcinoma, Robert G. Uzzo, Patricia Rayman, Andrew C. Novick, Ronald M. Bukowski, and James H. Finke. Molecular Genetics of Renal Cell Carcinoma, Erik Enquist, Norman Zambrano, Burton Zbar, W. Marston Linehan, and McClellan M. Walther. Screening for Renal Cell Carcinoma, Evan B. Cohn and Steven C. Campbell. Renal Cell Carcinoma: Diagnosis and Staging, Joel W. Slaton and David A. Swanson. Paraneoplastic Syndromes in Renal Cell Carcinoma, Riyadh Aldaabil and David Peereboom. Prognostic Factors in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma, Paul J. Elson. Part II. Management of Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma. Radical Nephrectomy and Nephron-Sparing Surgery for Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma, Andrew C. Novick. Management of Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma and Vena Caval Thrombi, Chad W. M. Ritenour and Fray F. Marshall. Laparoscopic Surgery for Renal Cell Carcinoma, Inderbir S. Gill. Adjuvant Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma, Ronald M. Bukowski. Part III. Management of Advanced and/or Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. The Role of Nephrectomy and Metastasectomy for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma, Robert G. Uzzo and Andrew C. Novick. Management of Pulmonary Metastases in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients, Thomas W. Rice. Management of Skeletal Metastases in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients, Michael J. Joyce. Management of Central Nervous System Metastases in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients, John H. Suh and Gene H. Barnett. Chemotherapy for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), Javier A. Ruiz, Haralambos Raftopoulos, and Daniel P. Petrylak. Interleukin-2 in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma, Thomas Olencki and Ronald M. Bukowski. Role of Interferon in MetastaticRenal Cell Carcinoma, Robert J. Motzer and William J. Berg. Combination Therapy for Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma, Jens Atzpodien, J. Janssen, J. Buer, S. Sel, and K. Oevermann. Monoclonal Antibodies in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma, Egbert Oosterwijk, Chaitanya R. Divgi, Martijn S. Steffens, and Neil H. Bander. Adoptive Immunotherapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma, Barbara J. Gitlitz, Arie S. Belldegrun, and Robert A. Figlin. Antiangiogenic Agents and Strategies in Renal Cell Carcinoma, Kevin R. Bigelow, Michael T. Spiotto, and Walter M. Stadler. Therapy for Patients with Uncommon Histologic Varieties of Renal Cell Carcinoma, Robert J. Amato. Palliation in Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Interface with Antineoplastic Therapy, Donna S. Zhukovsky. Index.