Pet scan clear: bronchial scope days later dr. said initial findings were negative. what is the likelihood of pathology reports being negative as well for any cancer spreading to the lymph nodes ?

Wait for follow up : You are 52 male with kidney cancer and survived from the information. A pet is very sensitive and the bronchoscopy with biopsy was also negative. These are encouraging. But you should continue to follow up for 5 years at least if not for life. Every 6 months see your doctor. I truly hope you beat the odds. Wait for pathology results.

See below: Negative pet with negative bronch suggest low risk for malignancy. Keep regular follow up as scheduled. Good luck!

Hopefully good: News is good so far! 3 thoughts: first, pet scan only sees tumors that are "active" - growing pretty fast and using a lot of glucose for energy. Second, pet scans have trouble identifying abnormal areas smaller than 5 to 10 mm (1/4 to 1/2 inch), so very small volumes of tumor can be missed. Third, bronchial scope (assuming no ultrasound or transbronchial biopsy) will not "see" lymph nodes.

80%: You are presenting limited information. Not sure what pathology samples were obtained. Generally, pet can pick up 80% of cancers, sometimes less, sometimes more. If spot is small, pet is less reliable. This number is an approximation and reflects the chance that the pet is falsely negative.