There is no consensus concerning which laboratory and imaging studies should be obtained to assess patients after radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed 158 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy with a final pathological diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. Of the patients 21 had node-positive or metastatic disease and 137 had no evidence of metastases at diagnosis. Of the latter group 19 had pathological stage T1N0M0, 82 stage T2N0M0 and 36 stage T3N0M0 (18 stage T3a, 10 stage T3b and 8 stages T3a and b) tumor. Disease recurred in 0%, 14.6% and 52.8% (50%, 44.4% and 75%) of the patients, respectively. The average interval to recurrence was 29.5 months (range 3.5 to 88.8) for patients with stage T2 carcinoma and 22 months (range 3 to 138) for those with stage T3 disease. Based upon our data, followup studies should include a symptom history, serum liver function studies and chest x-rays at defined intervals. Routine use of bone scans and computerized tomography does not appear to be necessary.