<b>Percutaneous Biopsy of Renal Masses:</b> Sensitivity and Negative Predictive Value Stratified by Clinical Setting and Size of Masses

Percutaneous renal mass biopsy has a high sensitivity in three clinical settings: patients with a known malignancy, patients with no known malignancy and suspected unresectable tumor, and nonsurgical patients with a mass suspected to be a resectable renal cell carcinoma. Negative results in small (< or = 3 cm) and large (> 6 cm) masses should be viewed with caution.