Clear Cell Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma

Clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma (ccpRCC) is a recently recognized entity and represents the fourth most common variant of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). It has unique morphologic and immunohistochemical features and demonstrates an indolent clinical behavior. Microscopically, it may mimic other RCCs with clear cell features, such as clear cell RCC, translocation RCC, and papillary RCC with clear cell changes. A high index of suspicion is required to keep ccpRCC in the differential diagnosis of RCCs with features of clear cell and/or papillary architecture. In equivocal cases, immunohistochemistry is generally sufficient to substantiate the diagnosis of ccpRCC. In this review, we discuss the clinical, gross, and histopathologic features, immunohistochemical and genetic profiling, and prognosis of ccpRCC.