Presentation
Left renal tumor.
Patient Data
![](https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/5837841/138c44c685934a6b89ac8939d79419_thumb.jpg)
![](https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/5837865/830f1b1fa004217adb095ff82c9d35_thumb.jpg)
![](https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/5837857/8b649cb085bde6cbdfa2392c693837_thumb.jpg)
![](https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/5837873/640405e60a1dab07214023a4441199_thumb.jpg)
![](https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/5837841/138c44c685934a6b89ac8939d79419_big_gallery.jpg)
This is a papillary renal cell carcinoma removed by partial nephrectomy.
Macroscopic - Circumscribed, cortical-based, tan tumor with a cuff of renal parenchyma.
Microscopic (low power) - circumscribed lesion.
Microscopic (medium power) - well-defined interface of tumor and adjacent renal cortex (bottom left).
Microscopic (high power) - well-formed branching papillae with lining cells showing abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and small uniform nuclei.
Case Discussion
The features are consistent with a papillary renal cell carcinoma.
Papillary RCC is further subclassified on morphological and prognostic grounds into type I and type II; this is a good example of a type II papillary RCC with cores lined by larger lining cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, arranged in a 'pseudostratified' pattern (in areas the cells appear to be several layers thick, but are infact all still attached to the basement membrane).