[Prognosis in the cases with renal cell carcinoma according to clinical parameters]

[Clinical studies on renal cell carcinoma]

PURPOSE

We reviewed 193 patients of renal cell carcinoma treated at Osaka Police Hospital between 1990 and 2006.

METHODS

The patients consisted of 140 males and 53 females. The median age was 62 years, ranging from 26 to 88 years. Median follow-up period was 53 months. TNM system and pathologic findings were classified in accordance with the Japanese General Rules for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Renal Cell Carcinoma. Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences in survival curves were estimated with the log-rank test. Independent prognostic factors were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS

The overall 3, 5, 10 and 15-year cause-specific survival rates were 92.6, 91.1, 86.1, 72.2%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated age, chief complaint, performance status, tumor size, anemia, CRP, tumor extent, grade, infiltrating pattern, venous involvement, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, stage to be significant prognostic factors. Moreover, multivariate analysis with Cox's proportional hazard model revealed high age (60 < or =), positive CRP, and T4 to be independent poor prognosticators for cause specific survival. Using these three risk factors, patients with 0, 1, 2, and 3 poor risk factors were classified as 0, 1, 2, and 3 risk groups, respectively. The overall 5 and 10-year cause specific survival rates in 0, 1, 2, and 3 risk groups were 100 and 100%, 90.8 and 83.8%, 71.6 and 34.1%, 0 and 0%, respectively. The overall 5 and 10-year cause specific survival rates (69.2 and 33.0%) especially in 2 and 3 risk groups were significantly poor prognosis, comparing with those (94.8 and 91.9%) in 0 and 1 risk group (p< 0.0001). Thus, the intensity of the follow up period and the necessity of postoperative adjuvant therapy for a patient are recommended for 2 and 3 risk groups.

Prognostic significance of multidrug-resistance protein (MDR-1) in renal clear cell carcinomas: a five year follow-up analysis

Background

A large number of renal cancer patients shows poor or partial response to chemotherapy and the mechanisms have not been still understood. Multi-drug resistance is the principal mechanism by which many cancers develop resistance to chemotherapic drugs. The role of the multi-drug resistant transporter (MDR-1/P-glycoprotein), the gene product of MDR-1, and that one of the so-called multi-drug resistance associated protein (MRP), two energy-dependent efflux pumps, are commonly known to confer drug resistance.

We studied MDR-1 expression in selected cases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), clear cell type, with long-term follow-up, in order to establish its prognostic role and its possible contribution in the choice of post-surgical therapy.

Methods

MDR-1 has been studied by standard LSAB-HRP immunohistochemical technique, in paraffin embedded RCC samples. Protein expression has been compared to clinical and histopathological data and to disease specific survival of RCC patients, by Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox multivariate regression analyses.

Results

Two groups of RCCs were obtained by esteeming MDR-1 expression and disease specific survival (obtained with Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox multivariate regression analyses): the first one presents low or absent MDR-1 expression and good survival; the second one is characterized by high MDR-1 expression and significant poor outcome (p < 0.05). Afterwards, we have found disease specific survival, adjusted for stages and independent of therapy: this difference of survival rates was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Stage adjusted disease specific survival rate, according to MDR-1 expression and therapy in patients affected by RCC in early stage (stage I), has revealed that the group of patients with high MDR-1 expression and without adjuvant therapy showed poor survival (p < 0.05). Cox multivariate regression analysis has confirmed that, in our cohort of RCC (clear cell type) patients, the strong association between MDR-1 and worse outcome is independent not only of the adjuvant therapy, but also of the other prognostic parameters (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

In our opinion, the results of this study well prove the relationship between MDR-1 expression and worse clinical prognosis in RCC, because MDR-1 over-expressing RCCs can be considered a group of tumours with a more aggressive behavior. This finding outlines a possible role of MDR-1 as prognostic factor, dependent and independent of multidrug resistance. These results could be useful to predict cancer evolution and to choose the appropriate treatment: this is another step that can stimulate further promising and interesting investigations on broader study population.

Treatment of childhood renal cell carcinoma with lymph node metastasis: two cases and a review of literature

Standard treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is radical nephrectomy with lymph node dissection. Stages I and II have encouraging prognoses, but Stage III with regional lymph node metastasis can be unfavorable. Adjuvant therapy for pediatric patients with advanced RCC with lymph node involvement or metastatic lesion has not been defined. Advanced pediatric RCC is reported in two patients (boys, aged 6 and 9 years: Stage IIIs, Robson; Stage III and IV, pTNM classification) treated by nephrectomy and lymph node dissection followed by postoperative interferon-alpha (IFN), that can be used as an adjuvant therapy with side effects such as fever, bone marrow suppression, or decreased liver function. One is doing well for 7 years, another is suffered from lung metastases at 3 years after surgery. Although immunotherapy is expected to improve survival in pediatric patients with advanced RCC, surgical resection of renal and metastatic tumors remains the standard treatment.