Background: Image diagnosis of kidney neoplasms allows good preoperative staging using the TNM system, but surgical management cannot be based on these data because a tumour apparently confined to the kidney may have produced metastasis in extraregional lymph nodes.
Methods: Thirty-three patients with renal carcinoma were observed over a seven-year period. Preoperative staging using the TNM system was performed and then compared with postoperative staging. Radical nephrectomy and regional lymphadenectomy were performed in all patients. Extensive lymphadenectomy was undertaken in 10 cases presenting neoplasms larger than 10 cm. At the preoperative assessment, 20 patients were stage T2, 13 stage T3, for factor N six were N1, two M1; postoperative staging confirmed T2 in 15 cases, whereas five T2 became T3. After postoperative staging, the N1 patients increased from 6 to 13. Fifteen patients were at Robson's stage II, four at stage IIA, twelve IIIB and two stage IV.
Results: The 5-year survival rate was 63.2%.
Conclusions: The authors conclude that from an analysis of the correlation between tumour size and lymph node metastasis it can be seen that low T values do not represent grounds for conservative treatment.