[A clinical study on lymph node metastasis of renal pelvic and ureteral cancers]

A clinical study was performed on 38 patients with renal pelvic and ureteral cancers who were treated in our hospital between 1977 and 1992. Nine patients (23.7%) had lymph node metastasis. The risk factors of lymph node metastasis were high grade, high stage and class IV or V or urine cytology. None of the patients with G1 or under pT1 had lymph node metastasis. The 5-year survival rate of the patients without [lymph node metastasis was 76.7% and that of the patients with lymph node metastasis was 11.1%. Although 6 of the 9 patients with G1 or G2 and under pT1 did not have adjuvant therapy, none of them died of the cancer. We concluded that lymph node metastasis in renal pelvic and ureteral cancers was the most important prognostic factor and that regional lymphadenectomy might be useful for the decision of adjuvant therapy.