Management of Renal Masses in an Octogenarian Cohort: Is There a Right Approach?

We reviewed the outcomes for an octogenarian population to investigate whether active surveillance (AS) provides comparable survival to partial nephrectomy (PN) or radical nephrectomy (RN).

Data were collected from 115 octogenarian patients referred for management of renal masses at Moffitt Cancer Center from 2000 to 2013. Patients were treated with AS, PN, or RN. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models measured the association between management modality and survival. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to calculate survival, and log-rank tests were used to compare survival curves.

The median age was 82 years (interquartile range, 81-85 years). The median follow-up period was 51 months (interquartile range, 23-81 months). Of the 115 patients, 31 (27%) underwent AS, 31 (27%) underwent PN, and 53 (46%) underwent RN. The patients who underwent RN had a larger mean tumor size at 5.5 cm, with 19 patients (36%) having stage ≥ pT3 (P < .001). We found no difference in overall survival or disease-specific survival among the 3 management strategies on univariable analysis (P = .39 and P = .1, respectively). On multivariable analysis for overall survival, only the Charlson comorbidity index was associated with worse survival (hazard ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.3; P = .002). In a subgroup analysis of cT1a patients, we also found no difference in overall or disease-specific survival among the treatment arms on univariable analysis (P = .74 and P = .9, respectively).

Active treatment with PN and RN might not provide a survival advantage compared with AS in the octogenarian population with a small renal mass. However, larger renal masses should undergo active treatment in appropriately selected patients.