Recommendations for the reporting of surgically resected specimens of renal cell carcinoma: the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology.

A checklist based approach to reporting the relevant pathologic details of renal cell carcinoma resection specimens improves the completeness of the report. Karyotypic evaluation of renal neoplasms has refined but also complicated their classification. The number of diagnostic possibilities has increased and the importance of distinguishing different tumor types has been underscored by dramatic variation in prognosis and the development of targeted therapies for specific subtypes. The increasing number of recognized renal neoplasms has implications for handling renal resection specimens. Furthermore, the prognostic significance of other features of renal neoplasms related to grade and stage has been demonstrated. This guideline for the handling of renal resection specimens will focus on problem areas in the evolving practice of diagnosis, grading, and staging of renal neoplasms. The accompanying checklist will serve to ensure that all necessary details of the renal resection specimen are included in the surgical pathology report.