Renal carcinoma: a ten-year review 1971-1980

A review of 72 patients who underwent nephrectomy for renal carcinoma between 1971 and 1980 is presented. All survivors were followed for a minimum of 5 years. The clinical features, type of operation and pathological findings were analysed for their influence on survival. Patients with stage 1 to 3 disease had a 65% 5-year survival rate, whereas all patients with stage 4 disease were dead within 2 years. The presence of malaise had a highly significant adverse influence on survival (P = 0.0014).