Renal cell carcinoma: I. Clinical indicators of prognosis

A retrospective analysis was carried out on 162 patients presenting to Wellington Hospital with renal cell carcinoma between 1958 and 1978, to evaluate factors that may influence prognosis. Following radical nephrectomy the five year survival was 70% for stages 1 and 2, 53% for stage 3A and 13% for stages 3B and 3C. No patient with distant metastases survived this period. Those with renal vein or caval involvement had a significantly worse prognosis than those with stage 1 or 2 disease, and a significantly better survival than those with nodal spread. Once the tumour stage had been assigned as a baseline the influence of clinical, haematological and biochemical variables on the prognosis was analysed using a proportional hazard model. The only factor showing a significant independent association with survival was the presentation of the renal cancer as an incidental finding (p less than 0.01). The presence of anaemia or a low peripheral lymphocyte count may be independently associated with survival (p = 0.02, 0.08 respectively). Weight loss, symptoms length, the ESR, abnormality of liver function and tumour size, although associated when considered alone, do not have an independent association and therefore offer little added prognostic information. The age and sex of the patient were not related to survival.