Clinicopathologic prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma / 대한비뇨기과학회지

ABSTRACT

From 1980 to 1989, 144 patients underwent radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. Survival was analyzed in terms of pathologic stage and histologic grade. Data revealed that M category was the most important prognostic factor followed by, in order of importance, T category, N category, and grade. But grade as prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma needs additional investigation. Stage pT1 and pT2 showed similar survival rate. The separation of pT1 and pT2 according to size of the primary tumor may not be a meaningful prognostic variable. Because vascular invasion may occur with tumors of various size, separating components into a description of the tumor (T), nodes (N), metastases (M) and renal vein involvements (V) makes good sense. The prognostic value of lymphadenectomy is limited by the fact that the tumor metastasizes through the blood stream and the lymphatic system with equal frequency.