Prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma

In order to evaluate the prognostic factors of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a retrospective study was carried out on 215 patients (150 men, 65 women) who had undergone surgical treatment from March 1979 to December 1986. The average age of the patients was 58 years (ranging from 15 to 85 years). The ratios of survival to tumor stage and grade, as well as to nodal and venous involvement, distant metastases at the time of diagnosis (as TNM classification) were evaluated by means of the actuarial method (life table). Corrected 5-year survival rates for stage T1-T4 were 100, 81, 68.9 and 0%, respectively. Grade 1 and grade 2 tumors had a 5-year survival rate of 66.5 and 52.8%, respectively; grade 3 had a 3-year survival rate of 46.5%. Nodal involvement at the time of diagnosis had a prediction value for the 3- and 5-year survival rate of 39.8 and 34.5%, respectively. Metastases at time of diagnosis had a 14.1% prediction value for a 3-year survival rate. Tumor extension to the vena cava (21 patients) affected survival in a significant way (55.8% at 3 years). A definite tendency towards lower stage and grade was observed in incidentally diagnosed RCC (11%). In conclusion, stage, grade, nodal and venous involvement as well as metastases at the time of diagnosis have a significant prognostic value in RCC. These data and the lack of early diagnostic methods for RCC suggest the routine use of renal ultrasonography in clinically asymptomatic patients during examination for suspected abdominal diseases and in high-risk patients (Von Hippel-Lindau disease smokers).