Renal adenocarcinoma in young adults: survival and variables affecting prognosis

Survival rates and various prognostic factors were studied in 89 patients between 20 and 40 years old who underwent nephrectomy for renal adenocarcinoma between 1950 and 1978. Although rare, renal carcinoma in young adults seems to follow a course similar to the disease seen in older patients. Among 18 suspected prognostic factors 2 are strongly and independently associated with survival. These are the pathologic stage of the tumor and preoperative weight loss. Several other prognostic variables show a statistically significant association with survival. These include the presence of preoperative fever, duration of symptoms, tumor cell type, microhematuria on admission to the hospital, tumor grade and sex. However, advanced statistical techniques demonstrate that the association of these variables with survival can be accounted for mostly by their close correlation with the stage of the tumor. Certain variables show no prognostic significance. These included the diameter of the tumor, age of the patient, presence or absence of gross hematuria, flank pain, palpable mass, arterial hypertension, sedimentation rate and side or site of the tumor.