Objectives: To describe renal cell carcinoma prognostic factors and set up the relationship with survival rates in this neoplasm. Likewise we show epidemiologic, clinical, diagnosis and therapeutic facts.
Material and method: We review 202 patients underwent surgical treatment for renal cell carcinoma and the following features were recorded: gender, age and presenting symptoms, especially incidentally discovered tumors; tumor-related factors like TNM tumor stage, tumor grade and venous involvement: therapy-related recorded were surgical techniques and cytokine-based therapy.
Results: 60% of the patients showed organ-confined disease, 10% of patients with renal cell carcinoma presented with nodal positive disease and 7% with systemic metastases. 42% of patients presenting incidental tumor, with survival rates substantially better than that for symptomatic patients. 42% of patients with nodal positive disease presented systemic metastases at diagnosis, and 30% at surveillance. Systemic metastases presented a particularly poor prognosis for patients with renal cell carcinoma, with 12-months survival rates that 0%. Patients with cytokine-related therapy for metastatic disease presented 24-months survival rates that 20%.
Conclusions: Renal cell carcinoma remains a major source of mortality, basically at advanced disease (nodal positive disease or systemic disease), without a clear improvement of survival rates despite the newer therapy modalities.