[Pathological prognostic factors of renal pelvic and ureteral cancer]

To determine the pathologic risk factors after nephroureterectomy in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter.

We investigated the clinicopathological features of 131 patients (94 males and 37 females) with urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter who underwent nephroureterectomy at our department and related facilities from August, 1994 to August, 1997. The mean age of the patients was 68 years, ranging from 24 to 86 years.

The 1-, 3- and 5-year cause-specific survival rates (Kaplan-Meier's method) for all of the patients were 91.8%, 76.7%, and 67.8%, respectively. The significant prognostic factors for survival rates by univariate analysis using the log rank test were tumor stage, infiltration pattern, lymphatic invasion, vessel invasion and lymph node metastasis. On the other hand, multivariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards regression model showed the most influential prognostic factors to be vessel invasion and tumor stage.

From these results, in urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter underwent nephroureterectomy, we suggested that vessel invasion and tumor stage were the independent prognostic factors.