Maxime Crepel

Positive Surgical Margin Appears to Have Negligible Impact on Survival of Renal Cell Carcinomas Treated by Nephron-Sparing Surgery

BACKGROUND The occurrence of positive surgical margins (PSMs) after partial nephrectomy (PN) is rare, and little is known about their natural history. OBJECTIVE To identify predictive factors of cancer recurrence and related death in patients having a PSM following PN. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Some 111 patients with a PSM were identified from a multicentre retrospective survey and were compared with 664 negative surgical margin (NSM) patients. A second cohort of NSM patients was created by matching NSM to PSM for indication, tumour size, and tumour grade. MEASUREMENTS PSM and NSM patients were compared using student t tests and chi-square tests on independent samples. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to test the independent effects of clinical and pathologic variables on survival. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS Mean age at diagnosis was 61+/-12.5 yr. Mean tumour size was 3.5+/-2 cm. Imperative indications accounted for 39% (43 of 111) of the cases. Some 18 patients (16%) underwent a second surgery (partial or total nephrectomy). With a mean follow-up of 37 mo, 11 patients (10%) had recurrences and 12 patients (11%) died, including 6 patients (5.4%) who died of cancer progression. Some 91% (10 of 11) of the patients who had recurrences and 83% of the patients (10 of 12) who died belonged to the group with imperative surgical indications. Rates of recurrence-free survival, of cancer-specific survival, and of overall survival were the same among NSM patients and PSM patients. The multivariable Cox model showed that the two variables that could predict recurrence were the indication (p=0.017) and tumour location (p=0.02). No other variable, including PSM status, had any effect on recurrence. None of the studied parameters had any effect on the rate of cancer-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS PSM status occurs more frequently in cases in which surgery is imperative and is associated with an increased risk of recurrence, but PSM status does not appear to influence cancer-specific survival. Additional follow-up is needed.

Nephron-sparing Surgery Is Equally Effective to Radical Nephrectomy for T1BN0M0 Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Population-based Assessment

OBJECTIVES To test the effect of nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) vs radical nephrectomy (RN) on cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in patients with T1bN0M0 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a population-based cohort. To date, only few series from tertiary care centers supported the use of NSS for T1bN0M0 (range 4-7 cm) RCC. METHODS The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database allowed us to identify 275 NSS (5.3%) and 4866 RN (94.7%) patients treated for T1bN0M0 RCC between 1988 and 2004. Analyses matched for age, year of surgery, tumor size, and Fuhrman grade addressed the effect of nephrectomy type (NSS vs RN) on CSM. RESULTS Five years after surgery, the surviving proportions of NSS and RN patients matched for age, tumor size, and year of surgery were respectively 91.4 and 95.3% and 90.1 and 93.8% in the cohort, where additional matching for Fuhrman grade was performed. Neither of the matched analyses resulted in statistically significant CSM difference (P = .1 and .4) between NSS and RN. Similarly, competing-risks regression analyses based on both matching schemes also failed to reveal statistically significant CSM differences (P = .3 and .3). CONCLUSIONS Our study represents the largest and the only population-based analysis of cancer control efficacy of NSS vs RN in T1bN0M0 RCC. It indicates that NSS does provide equivalent cancer control relative to RN. In consequence, based on cancer control equivalence, NSS should be given equal consideration to RN in patients with T1bN0M0 lesions.

The use of partial nephrectomy in European tertiary care centers.

PURPOSE The objective was to define the trends of PN use over time at six tertiary care European centers. METHODS Data were retrieved from institutional databases for patients treated with either PN or radical nephrectomy (RN) for stages T(1-2)N(0)M(0) renal cell carcinoma (RCC) between 1987 and 2007. For purpose of temporal trend analyses patients were divided into five equally sized groups according to the date of surgery. Categorical and multivariable logistic regression analyses assessed predictors of PN use. RESULTS Overall 597 (31.7%) patients were treated with PN. Overall, a 4.5-fold increase of PN was recorded. The absolute increases were 41.7-86.3%, 14.9-69.3% and 8.1-35.3% for lesions < or = 2 cm, 2.1-4 cm and 4.1-7 cm (chi-square trend test p<0.001), respectively. In multivariable logistic regression models, decreasing tumor size, younger age, more contemporary date of surgery, male gender and institutional PN rate represented independent predictors of the individual probability of treatment with PN. Lack of data from community hospitals limits the generalizability of our findings. CONCLUSION Based on data from six tertiary care centers, the contemporary rate of PN ranges from 86 to 35% for renal masses < or = 2 cm to 4.1-7 cm and is indicative of excellent quality of care.

Partial Versus Radical Nephrectomy in Patients With Adverse Clinical or Pathologic Characteristics

OBJECTIVES To assess cancer-specific survival of partial nephrectomy (PN) patients with >or= 7-cm lesions or unfavorable pathology (stage T3a or Fuhrman grades III-IV). MATERIAL AND METHODS At 13 participation centers, 4072 partial or radical nephrectomies (RN) were performed for RCC between 1984 and 2001. Of all procedures, 925 (22.7%) were for tumors > 7 cm, 973 (23.9%) had Fuhrman grades III or IV, and 861 (21.1%) had stage pT3a. None had nodal or distant metastases. Matched (age, gender, tumor size, T stage, histologic subtype, and Fuhrman grade [FG]) survival analyses addressed the effect of nephrectomy type (partial vs radical) on cancer-specific mortality. RESULTS Partial nephrectomy for tumors > 7 cm was associated with higher mortality than RN (HR = 5.3; P = .025). No significant cancer-specific survival differences were recorded after PN for FG III-IV (HR = 0.7, P = .5) or for pT3a lesions (HR = 2.5, P = .9). CONCLUSIONS Partial nephrectomy may undermine cancer control in patients with tumors > 7 cm. Conversely, after PN, the same cancer control rates as after RN may be expected in patients with Fuhrman grades III-IV or with pT3a histology.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of synchronous bilateral renal cell carcinoma: an international multicentre experience.

An interesting group of papers in this section is headed by two papers on synchronous bilateral renal tumours, one from an international group of authors and one from Germany. The large series of patients are examined carefully by both groups, and the findings should be useful for all who are interested in this area.

Cancer-specific and non-cancer-related mortality rates in European patients with T1a and T1b renal cell carcinoma

To examine cancer‐specific and non‐cancer‐related mortality rates in 451 patients with T1a–bN0M0 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated with either radical or partial nephrectomy (RN or PN) in Europe.

A comparative population-based analysis of the rate of partial vs radical nephrectomy for clinically localized renal cell carcinoma

Study Type – Prevalence (prospective cohort with good follow up)Level of Evidence 1a

A population-based comparison of cancer-control rates between radical and partial nephrectomy for T1A renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES To complement existing data with population-based cancer control outcomes that account for the effect of other-cause mortality (OCM). Cancer control rates are virtually equivalent between partial (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) for patients with T1aN0M0 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). To date, only 6 studies from centers of excellence examined cancer control rates after PN vs RN for T1aN0M0 RCC. OCM was unaccounted for in those studies, which may introduce a bias. We relied on the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database and assessed cancer-specific mortality (CSM) after either PN or RN for T1aN0M0 RCC, in competing-risks models. METHODS Between 1988 and 2004, the SEER-9 database identified 1622 PN (22.3%) and 5658 RN (77.7%) T1aN0M0 RCC. Competing-risks regression models, controlling for OCM and matched for age, year of surgery, tumor size, and Fuhrman grade, addressed the effect of nephrectomy type (PN vs RN) on CSM. RESULTS At 5 years, in a PN and RN matched-population controlling for OCM, CSM after PN and RN was respectively 1.8% vs 2.5% (P = .5). The CSM rates in this cohort for patients aged ≥ 70 years were respectively 1.0% and 3.4% (P = .7). CONCLUSIONS This competing-risks population-based analysis confirmed the CSM equivalence between PN and RN for T1aN0M0 RCC and showed virtually perfect CSM-free rates (97.5% or better) even in older patients.

Predictive Factors for Ipsilateral Recurrence After Nephron-sparing Surgery in Renal Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND Ipsilateral recurrence after nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) is rare, and little is known about its specific determinants. OBJECTIVE To determine clinical or pathologic features associated with ipsilateral recurrence after NSS performed for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We analysed 809 NSS procedures performed at eight academic institutions for sporadic RCCs retrospectively. MEASUREMENTS Age, gender, indication, tumour bilaterality, tumour size, tumour location, TNM stage, Fuhrman grade, histologic subtype, and presence of positive surgical margins (PSMs) were assessed as predictors for recurrence in univariate and multivariate analysis by using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS Among 809 NSS procedures with a median follow-up of 27 (1-252) mo, 26 ipsilateral recurrences (3.2%) occurred at a median time of 27 (14.5-38.2) mo. In univariate analysis, the following variables were significantly associated with recurrence: pT3a stage (p=0.0489), imperative indication (p<0.01), tumour bilaterality (p<0.01), tumour size >4cm (p<0.01), Fuhrman grade III or IV (p=0.0185), and PSM (p<0.01). In multivariate analysis, tumour bilaterality, tumour size >4cm, and presence of PSM remained independent predictive factors for RCC ipsilateral recurrence. Hazard ratios (HR) were 6.31, 4.57, and 11.5 for tumour bilaterality, tumour size >4cm, and PSM status, respectively. The main limitations of this study included its retrospective nature and a short follow-up. CONCLUSIONS RCC ipsilateral recurrence risk after NSS is significantly associated with tumour size >4cm, tumour bilaterality (synchronous or asynchronous), and PSM. Careful follow-up should be advised in patients presenting with such characteristics.

Prognostic variables to predict cancer‐related death in incidental renal tumours

To identify, in a large multicentre series of incidental renal tumours, the key factors that could predict cancer‐related deaths, as such tumours have a better outcome than symptomatic tumours and selected patients are increasingly being included in watchful‐waiting protocols.