Prognostic Factors in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Kim, Sae Woong; Park, Wang Jin; Ha, Jae Sung; Lee, Seung Ju; Lee, Ji Youl; Lee, Choong Bum; Kang, Sung Hak; Cho, Yong Hyun; Yoon, Moon Soo

Abstract

PURPOSE
The prognostic factors influencing the survival rate in patients with renal cell carcinoma were evaluated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
An analysis was performed on 102 patients with renal cell carcinoma who underwent a radical nephrectomy from January 1995 to June 1999. The survival rate according to each prognostic factor such as the 1997 TNM stage, the size, cell type and nuclear grade of the tumor and the presence of symptoms at the point of diagnosis, age and gender, and tumor location was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The statistics was determined by the log-rank test of a univariate analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model of multivariate analysis.
RESULTS
Univariate analysis showed that the TNM stage, size and nuclear grade of tumor, and the presence of symptoms at the point of diagnosis had a significant influence on survival rate of patients with renal cell carcinoma. The tumor cell type, age and gender, the location of the tumors had little statistical significance. Multivariate analysis showed that a distant metastasis was the most significant prognostic factor followed by nuclear grade of the tumor cell, T stage, the presence of symptoms at the point of diagnosis, and lymph node metastasis in this order.
CONCLUSIONS
The TNM stage, nuclear grade of the tumor and the presence of symptoms at diagnosis are important prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma. Analyzing these prognostic factors will be useful as a treatment modality, follow up and prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma.