Figure 2.

Examples of indications for percutaneous renal mass biopsy of small renal masses. (A) Determining initial management for whom the decision between active surveillance and primary intervention is unclear in a patient who would clearly choose intervention based on a histologic diagnosis. (B) To distinguish rapidly growing benign lesion (ie, oncocytoma) from malignant in a patient on active surveillance whose small renal mass grows > 0.5 cm/year. (C) Determining whether nephronsparing intervention or radical nephrectomy is appropriate in a patient for whom primary intervention is indicated but the benefits of both are unclear. For example, radical nephrectomy may be more justified in the setting of renal cell carcinoma than a benign entity. CBC, complete blood count; CMP, comprehensive metabolic panel; PT/PTT, prothrombin time/partial thromboplastin time; QOL, quality of life.