Detailed study of survival of patients with renal cell carcinoma in India

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 90% of all renal malignancies. The rates of kidney cancers are high in developed countries and low in eastern countries and Africa. The objective was to conduct a survival study among Indian population following nephrectomy for RCC as there was a paucity of Indian studies in medical literature.

We conducted a follow-up study of eighty RCC patients who had nephrectomy between January 2003 and December 2010. These patients had pathological diagnosis after nephrectomy. The follow-up was done up to December 2015. The survival statistics were compiled according to Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

The overall survival of eighty patients was 77%. The patients with tumor size ≤7 cm and the patients with tumor size> 7 cm showed significant statistical difference at 5-year survival (P < 0.0001). The patients with low nuclear grade (1 and 2) and the patients with high nuclear grade (3 and 4) showed significant statistical difference at 5-year survival (P < 0.0001). The patients with tumor node metastasis stage below T3 and the patients with clinical stage above or equal to T3 showed significant statistical difference at 5-year survival (P = 0.003).

This study has demonstrated the importance of factors such as tumor size, nuclear grade, and stage in the assessment of prognosis of RCC patients. More studies in India with more patients are needed to demonstrate the importance of these prognostic factors.