Oncological outcome of minimum incision endoscopic radical nephrectomy for pathologically organ confined renal cell carcinoma

To date, follow-up after minimum incision endoscopic radical nephrectomy (MIES radical nephrectomy) for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been reported. Minimum incision indicates an incision that narrowly permits the extraction of the specimen. To evaluate the oncological outcome of the patients with pathologically organ confined (pT1-2N0M0) RCC treated with this operation, the results in those patients were analyzed.

From 1998 to 2006, 154 consecutive patients underwent MIES radical nephrectomy under diagnosis of clinical T1-2N0M0 RCC in our hospital. Of the patients, 127 patients with pathologically confirmed organ confined (pT1-2N0M0) RCC constituted the current study population. Overall, the recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival rates of the patients treated with MIES radical nephrectomy were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with those of the patients treated with open radical nephrectomy using the log rank test.

The median follow-up period was 34 months (range: 3-98 months). Of the 127 pT1-2N0M0 patients treated with MIES radical nephrectomy, the disease recurred in nine patients and four patients died of the cancer during follow-up. The five-year overall, recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival rates were 95.0%, 90.8% and 95.8%, respectively. Overall, the recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival rates were not different from those of patients treated with open radical nephrectomy.

MIES radical nephrectomy has the validity in adequate cancer control and is one of the recommendable options as a minimally invasive surgery for patients with organ confined RCC.