Purpose: Compared to older adults with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) our subjective impression has been that younger adults present with more unfavorable histological features and yet respond more favorably to aggressive therapies. We reviewed our experience to validate these observations.
Materials and methods: We reviewed the medical records of 106 consecutive patients 40 years or younger and 145 consecutive 58 to 61-year-old patients referred for the surgical management of sporadic RCC between 1992 and 2002. Using univariate and multivariate analyses the pathological characteristics and outcome of the 2 groups were compared.
Results: Mean age of the young adults was 34.7 years (range 14 to 40). Of younger adults 24% had tumors with unfavorable features, such as sarcomatoid differentiation, unclassified histology, medullary carcinoma and collecting duct carcinoma, compared with 12% of older adults (p <0.02). However, older adults were more likely to have tumors of advanced local pathological stage (pT3a or greater) (46% vs 31%, p <0.04). Whereas young adults had a higher incidence rate of lymph node metastases at presentation (25% vs 15%, p <0.02), the rate of distant metastatic disease at presentation in young (34%) and older (28%) patients did not differ significantly (p = 0.33). Young age was independently associated with a higher 5-year actuarial disease specific survival rate on multivariate analysis at a median followup of 37 months (66% vs 52%, adjusted HR 2.64, 95% CI 1.45 to 4.79, p <0.002). On multivariate analysis of patients without distant metastases at presentation young adults also had improved recurrence-free survival (median time to recurrence 32.4 vs 23.5 months, HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.04 to 4.78, p <0.04).
Conclusions: Young adults with RCC were more likely to have unfavorable histological features and a higher incidence of lymph node metastases than an older cohort of adults. Despite these differences on multivariate analysis young patients had improved disease-specific and recurrence-free survival following treatment. Whether age specific differences in host-tumor interaction exist in patients with RCC deserves further study.