Salvage surgery for renal cell carcinoma

Complete surgical excision of solitary metastatic lesions in renal cell carcinoma has been reported to be associated with improved survival. An analysis of 65 outpatients undergoing excision of metastatic renal cell carcinoma is reviewed. In our series there was no significant difference among patients with solitary versus those with multiple metastasis. The overall 5-year survival was considerably lower than previously reported. We recommend that only patients with good performance status, who are participating in protocols with biological response modifiers, could potentially benefit from surgical removal of metastatic lesions.