{
  "abstract": "Background: Kidney tumors comprise a biologically diverse and diagnostically challenging group of neoplasms. Many entities share overlapping morphologic features despite having distinct molecular profiles. Although histomorphology remains the cornerstone of diagnosis, molecular biomarker testing has become increasingly important for accurate classification, recognition of emerging entities, identification of hereditary cancer syndromes, and therapeutic decision-making. Focus of the Review: This narrative review provides a practical, pathology-oriented framework for molecular biomarker testing in kidney tumors. It integrates immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction-based methods, and next-generation sequencing with morphologic assessment. Particular attention is given to diagnostically relevant alterations involving VHL, TFE3, TFEB, MET, FH, ELOC, and ALK, genes encoding SDH subunits, and components of the mTOR signaling pathway, together with commonly used immunohistochemical surrogates. The prognostic and predictive roles of selected biomarkers, including their potential value in hereditary risk assessment and treatment selection, are also discussed. Practical limitations, such as limited biopsy material, intratumoral heterogeneity, and technical variability, are considered. Conclusions: Molecular biomarker testing is reshaping kidney tumor pathology by supporting an integrated diagnostic approach that complements, rather than replaces, careful morphologic evaluation. Its appropriate use can improve diagnostic accuracy, refine clinical stratification, and facilitate the recognition of emerging renal tumor entities with hereditary or therapeutic relevance. Future developments are expected to include methylation profiling, transcriptomic classifiers, liquid biopsy platforms, and artificial intelligence-assisted interpretation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli 41001, Turkey",
    "Department of Pathology, Gulhane Research and Training Hospital, Ankara 06010, Turkey",
    "Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli 41001, Turkey",
    "Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA",
    "Section of Pathology, Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy",
    "Department of Pathology, Pederzoli Hospital, 37019 Peschiera, Italy",
    "Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Atlas University, Istanbul 34408, Turkey",
    "Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA",
    "Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Surgery (Urology), Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, and Brown University Health, Providence, RI 02912, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "review article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Busra Yaprak Bayrak",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0537-3127"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Elif Ozsagir",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9851-9227"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nazif Alperen Yıldırım"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kerem Teke"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Michael Cheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Anna Caliò",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7352-6327"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Guido Martignoni"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Mahmut Akgul",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0929-0940"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Liang Cheng",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6049-5293"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/avghw0k7zpqyg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/cancers18203341",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13702472/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "avghw0k7zpqyg",
  "issns": [
    "2072-6694"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/18/20/3341",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2740|Renal cell carcinoma treatment"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222743759",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13702472/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13702472",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/avghw0k7zpqyg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:58Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/cancers18203341",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/18/20/3341"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13702472",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13702472"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:2072-6694",
      "subfield": "oncology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Molecular Biomarker Testing in Kidney Cancer: Integrating Diagnosis, Prediction, and Emerging Renal Tumor Entities",
  "title_text": "Molecular Biomarker Testing in Kidney Cancer: Integrating Diagnosis, Prediction, and Emerging Renal Tumor Entities",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/avghw0k7zpqyg",
  "venue": "Cancers",
  "versions": []
}