Radionuclide Imaging in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Nowadays, a space-occupying lesion in the kidney is usually discovered with ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen. The benign or malignant nature of the lesion can usually accurately be assessed with these radiological procedures. Radionuclide imaging techniques do not play a major role in diagnosing kidney cancer, as currently there are no radiopharmaceuticals routinely available that selectively target malignant renal cells. In experimental settings, a few investigational radionuclide-labeled monoclonal antibodies specifically targeting (subsets of) renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) have been described. In this chapter the role of various nuclear medicine techniques for diagnosing kidney cancer will be discussed in more detail.