[Clinical observations of advanced renal cell carcinomas--the chronological change between 1975 and 1991]

An analysis has been undertaken to determine chronological changes that have occurred in the clinical features and treatments of advanced renal cell carcinomas. To accomplish this, 96 renal cell carcinoma cases, handled by the authors' department and at the branch hospital, were divided into two groups: 48 patients treated between 1975 and 1983 (group 1) and 48 patients treated between 1984 and 1991 (group 2). Between the two groups, no differences were seen in the sex ratio, the mean age, and the ratio of those who were found to be advanced cases at the time of diagnosis and those whose cancers had advanced after undergoing a nephrectomy. Concerning treatment, interferon (IFN) and UFT were more frequently used in treating group 2 than group 1, and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy less frequently used. No differences were seen in the prognosis between the two groups; however, in those who had advanced after nephrectomy, group 2 cases survived for a significantly longer period than did group 1 cases. Patients who survived for 5 years or longer accounted for two cases in group 1 and 5 cases in group 2 and combination therapies involving surgery, IFN, UFT, or similar medications were used for their treatments. These results suggest that adjuvant therapies, such as surgery, IFN, and UFT, have possibly contributed to prolonging survival, especially for cases that advanced after nephrectomy.