Surgery is the only effective method for the treatment of localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Today nephron sparing surgery (NSS) cures the majority of patients with early stage disease. Open radical nephrectomy (RN) is performed mainly in patients with large tumors and in cases complicated by the tumor thrombus extension into the vena cava. Laparoscopy is now more and more often used for RCC treatment. Laparoscopic RN (LRN) is now recommended for the treatment of early stage RCC, when NSS cannot be used. LRN seems to provide longterm cancer control comparable to open RN. RCC is now often diagnosed when the tumors are still small and can be often cured by NSS providing excellent local cancer control. Tumor size, location, multiple foci, surgical margin, and pathological variants are significant for cancer outcome in selective NSS. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) is now gaining popularity as an effective minimally invasive treatment in patients with relatively small and peripheral renal tumors. Recently minimally invasive ablative techniques were introduced for the treatment of RCC. These methods involve little complications if used for the treatment of small renal tumors. The currently used best therapy for metastatic RCC is inadequate and surgery is an important component of combined treatment including immunochemotherapy. Combinations of interferon-alpha, interleukin-2, and 5-fluorouracyl are now used for the treatment of metastatic RCC. Nephrectomy can be recommended for patients with good performance status before immunotherapy. Modern research is focused on identification of novel agents and treatment modalities with better antitumor activity.
