The diagnosis and management of small renal masses.

Small renal masses (SRMs) are currently defined as kidney lesions measuring ≤4cm in diameter. The overall incidence of renal masses has risen steadily, reaching a plateau only in recent years, and the steepest rise has been demonstrated among SRMs. The current incidence is approximately 10.8 per 100,000 in the United States, with localized stage I disease representing >50% of all newly diagnosed renal tumours. Most of this rise in incidence is due to increased use of imaging techniques (CT, ultrasound) with the majority of newly diagnosed tumours presenting incidentally and asymptomatically. Subsequently, the landscape of this disease has shifted to a greater prevalence of small, localized tumours, and our approach to these tumours has evolved in parallel. SRMs are a heterogCanCer Treatment of Small Renal Masses Small Renal Mass (≤4cm diameter)