Background: Kidney cancer is the third most frequent urologic cancer in Lebanon after prostate and bladdercancer, accounting for 1.5% of all diagnosed cancers. In this paper, we report the histologic characteristicsand distribution of kidney cancer, never described in Lebanon or the Middle East. Materials and Methods:Pathology results of operated kidney cancer were collected during a two year period (2010-2011) from twodifferent Lebanese hospitals (Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital and Saint Joseph Hospital). A total of124 reports were reviewed and analyzed according to WHO classification of 2009. Results: The 124 patientsdiagnosed with kidney cancer had a median age of 62.4 [18-86], 75% being men and 25% women. Some 71 %of the lesions were renal cell carcinoma (RCC), 25.8% had a urothelial histology, 1.6% were lymphomas and1.6% were metastases to the kidney. Patients having RCC had a median age of 60.3 [18-85], 77.3% were menand 22.7% women. Of the RCCs, 59.1% were clear cell carcinoma, 22.7% papillary, 11.4% chromophobic, 3.4%rom the collecting ducts of Bellini and 3.4% were not otherwise classified. Conclusions: Histological distributionof Lebanese kidney cancer seems unusual when compared to the literature. The percentage of urothelial renalpelvis tumors is strikingly high. Moreover, clear cell carcinoma accounts for only 59.1% of RCCS in contrastto the 75% described elsewhere, while papillary carcinoma represents more than 22.7% compared to 10%.
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