Histological Subtyping and Nuclear Grading of Renal Cell Carcinoma and Their Implications for Survival: A Retrospective Nation-Wide Study of 629 Patients

In this complete nation-wide series nuclear grading is important in predicting survival of patients with RCC. It is strongly related to both tumor size and stage, with stage being by far the strongest prognostic factor. Different histological subtypes confer different survival. However, in spite of the distinctive cytogenetic and molecular characteristics of the subtypes, the survival difference is to a large extent due to differences in grade and particularly stage.