A Follow-up Guideline after Radical Nephrectomy for Renal Cell Carcinoma / 대한비뇨기과학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To establish the stage specific follow-up guideline for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), we evaluated the pattern of metastases and the clinical course of patients who had underwent radical nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the records of 165 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy with a final pathologic diagnosis of RCC. We compared the time of the first recurrence, the site of metastasis and detection modality according to the pathologic stages. RESULTS: Metastases were found in 18 patients in an average of 12.9 9.5 months after nephrectomy. None of the 77 patients with pT1 ( or = 5cm), 4 of the 47 patients with pT2 disease and 10 of the 20 patients with pT3 disease. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of recurrence and metastasis in RCC is stage-dependent. Therefore, a different follow-up guideline should be applied for each stage of RCC after surgical treatment. There is no need for follow-up in patients with pT1 tumors smaller than 5cm. For patients with pT1 tumor larger than 5cm, pT2, pT3 diseases, follow-up studies including history of symptoms, laboratory studies, chest x-ray, and computerized tomography are indicated at defined intervals.