[Clinicopathological and prognostic differences between clear cell and non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma with...

To compare the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic outcomes between patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (nccRCC) accompanied by venous tumor thrombus.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical and pathological data from patients with RCC and venous tumor thrombus treated in the Department of Urology at Peking University Third Hospital between January 2014 and February 2024. Patients were stratified into two groups based on pathological type: ccRCC and nccRCC. Comparisons of baseline characteristics, intraoperative situation, and prognosis between the two groups were performed using t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square tests, and Log-rank tests. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

A total of 437 patients were included, with a median age of 58 years, including 317 males and 120 females. The cohort comprised 366 cases of ccRCC and 71 cases of nccRCC. The non-clear cell group included 38 cases (53.5%) of papillary renal cell carcinoma, 2 cases (2.8%) of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, 11 cases (15.5%) of unclassified renal cell carcinoma, 19 cases (26.8%) of molecularly defined renal cell carcinoma, and 1 case (1.4%) of collecting duct carcinoma. Compared with the clear cell renal carcinoma group, patients in the non-clear cell carcinoma group demonstrated a younger age at diagnosis (59 years vs. 55 years, P=0.010), larger tumor size (8.4 cm vs. 9.5 cm, P=0.025), higher rates of lymph node metastasis (56.8% vs. 70.6%, P=0.034), more advanced tumor thrombus (P < 0.001) and pathological grading (P=0.010), longer surgical duration (272 minutes vs. 289 minutes, P=0.023), and shorter overall survival (80 months vs. 35 months, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that histologic type, distant metastasis, tumor thrombus grading, and sarcomatoid/rhabdoid differentiation were prognostic factors in the renal cell carcinoma patients with venous tumor thrombus. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of gender, body mass index, tumor laterality, distant metastasis, sarcomatoid or rhabdoid differentiation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, surgical approach, conversion to open surgery, blood loss, or transfusion of red blood cells and plasma.

Compared with patients with clear cell renal carcinoma and venous tumor thrombus, those with non-clear cell carcinoma and venous tumor thrombus exhibit earlier onset, more aggressive disease progression, and poorer prognosis.