Clinical experience of surgical treatment in metastatic renal cell carcinoma with venous tumor thrombus / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the safety and effectiveness of cytoreductive nephrectomy and tumor thrombectomy in patients with metastatic renal cancer with renal vein or inferior vena cava tumor thrombus.Methods:From February 2015 to May 2019, 56 cases of metastatic renal cell carcinoma with venous tumor thrombus were analyzed retrospectively, including 44 male (78.6%) and 12 female (21.4%)cases, and the average age was (59.2±10.7)(22-82). The clinical presentations covered local symptoms in 26 cases (46.4%), systemic symptoms in 8 cases (14.3%), both local symptoms and systemic symptoms in 12 cases (21.4%), and asymptomatic in 10 cases (17.9%). Among them, renal tumors were located in 35 cases (62.5%) on the right and 21 cases (37.5%) on the left. The average tumor diameter was (10.1±3.8)(1.5-21.1) cm. Forty-five cases (80.4%) scored 2 points and 11 cases (19.6%) scored 3 points by the American Society of anesthesiologists(ASA). Preoperative hemoglobin was (118.2±23.1)(72-178) g/L, and albumin was (37.9±5.6)(23-50) g/L, total protein was (67.7±6.7)(43-81) g/L, serum creatinine was (111.3±119.6)(32-958) μmol/L. There were 16 cases of Mayo 0 (28.6%), 14 cases of Mayo Ⅰ(25.0%), 17 cases of Mayo Ⅱ(30.4%), 4 cases of Mayo Ⅲ(7.1%), and 5 cases of Mayo Ⅳ(8.9%). Fourteen cases (25.0%) were in the stage of cN 0 and 42 cases (75.0%) in the stage of cN 1. Five cases (8.9%) had simple bone metastasis, 16 cases (28.6%) had simple lung metastasis, 2 cases (3.6%) had simple adrenal metastasis, 6 cases (10.7%) had simple liver metastasis, and 27 cases (48.2%) had 2 or more multiple system metastasis. According to the location of the organ system, 91 metastatic lesions were found in 56 patients. Among them, 37 cases (40.7%) had lung metastasis, 18 cases (19.8%) had liver metastasis, 21 cases (23.1%) had bone metastasis and 15 cases (16.5%) had adrenal metastasis. All 56 patients belonged to IMDC prognosis score model medium risk group. The surgical treatment of Mayo grade 0 tumor thrombus was the same as that of routine radical nephrectomy. The tumor thrombus of Mayo grade Ⅰ was removed after IVC was partially blocked by Satinsky′s forceps. The Mayo Ⅱ tumor thrombus was removed, after blocking the distal vena cava, the contralateral renal vein and the proximal vena cava. Mayo grade Ⅲ tumor thrombus needed pringer's method to block the first porta hepatis. For grade Ⅳ tumor thrombus the diaphragm could be cut directly, or the thrombus could be removed by cardiopulmonary bypass. Laparoscopic surgery was performed in 22 cases (39.3%) and open surgery in 30 cases (53.6%). Six cases (10.7%) underwent IVC wall resection because of tumor invasion. 32 cases (57.1%) underwent ipsilateral adrenalectomy because of tumor invasion or adrenal metastasis, and 23 cases (41.1%) underwent ipsilateral lymphadenectomy. In this study, there were 11 cases of solitary metastasis, 8 cases of which were operated on and 3 cases of which were not operated on. Forty-three patients were treated with sunitinib after palliative nephrectomy, 9 patients were treated with pazopanib, 3 patients were treated with acitinib, and 1 patient was treated with sorafenib. Results:The operations were successfully completed in 56 patients. Four cases (7.1%) changed from laparoscopic surgery to open surgery. The operation time was (326.8±114.9)(108-589) min. Intraoperative hemorrhage was (1 435.2±1 513.4)(20-6 000) ml, intraoperative red blood cells transfusion was (1 456.7±832.8)(400-3 600) ml in 30 cases, and intraoperative plasma transfusion was (700.0±473.6)(200-1 800) ml in 15 cases. The postoperative hospital stay was (10.6±4.6)(5-26) days. The serum creatinine one week after operation was (109.5±98.7) (47-772) μmol/L. There were 46 cases (82.1%) of renal clear cell carcinoma, 7 cases (12.5%) of papillary renal cell carcinoma and 3 cases (5.4%) of unclassified renal cell carcinoma. One case was WHO/ISUP 2016 nuclear grade 1 (1.8%), 20 cases(36.4%) was grade 2, 18 cases(32.7%)was grade 3, and 16 cases(29.1%)was grade 4. Early postoperative complications occurred in 22 cases (39.3%). Among them, 1 case of Clavien gradeⅠ was wound infection. There were 16 cases with Clavien gradeⅡ, including 5 cases who received blood transfusion due to anemia, 3 cases with chylous fistula, 4 cases with postoperative pulmonary infection, 2 cases with postoperative lower extremity venous thrombosis, 1 case with atrial fibrillation and 1 case with epididymitis. Clavien gradeⅢ a was found in 1 case with pneumothorax. Clavien gradeⅣ was found in 2 cases, including 1 case of acute cerebral infarction and 1 case of renal insufficiency.There were 2 cases with Clavien gradeⅤ with perioperative death. Among the 56 patients, 5 lost the follow-up, 2 died during the perioperative period, and the other 49 patients were followed up for 1-39 months, with a median follow-up of 14 months. The mean survival time was (25.6±2.5) months, and the median survival time was 25 months.Conclusions:It was relatively safe and effective to perform cytoreductive nephrectomy and tumor thrombectomy in patients with metastatic renal cancer with tumor thrombus. For the patients with clinical symptoms, IMDC prognosis score model medium risk group, and strong desire for surgery, the combination of cytoreductive nephrectomy with tumor thrombectomy and postoperative targeted medical therapy was recommended.