Prospective study of safety margins in partial nephrectomy: intraoperative assessment and contribution of frozen section analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate prospectively a healthy parenchymal safety margin during conservative surgery for renal cell carcinoma. METHODS: From 1997 to 2001, elective nephron-sparing surgery was performed through a flank incision in 61 consecutive patients (mean age 59.4 years, range 34.2 to 78.5). The mean tumor size was 32 mm (range 12 to 50). The tumor localization was juxtahilar in 10 and distant in 51. Prospective margin assessment used the following protocol. Margins were evaluated macroscopically by the surgeon, controlled by frozen section analysis, and subsequently measured during histologic examination. All patients were monitored with computed tomography scans, with a mean follow-up of 72.5 months (range 46 to 95). RESULTS: The histologic type was clear cell in 42 patients, papillary in 17, and chromophobic cell in 2. Of the 61 patients, 57 had 1997 TNM Stage pT1 and 4 had Stage pT2. The Furhman grade was grade 1 in 16, grade 2 in 35, and grade 3 in 10. No tumor margin was positive. Frozen section analysis and routine histologic examination yielded 53 complete and 8 incomplete margins compared with 51 and 10, respectively, as assessed by the surgeons. The mean peritumoral margin was 7 mm (range 4 to 10) for the cortex and 2 mm (range 0 to 5) for the deep part. No patient developed locoregional or metastatic relapse. CONCLUSIONS: No apparent relationship was observed between peritumoral margin width and the risk of disease progression, even for tumors abutting the hilum, rendering illusory a safety margin greater than 1 cm. Although the surgeons' macroscopic margin evaluations were accurate, frozen section analysis is mandatory when the margin status is in doubt. In all cases, margin negativity remains an oncologic imperative.

[Laparoscopic kidney release for refractory chyluria]. / Néphrolyse laparoscopique pour chylurie réfractaire.

Chyluria is a rare disease outside of parasite endemic zones. The treatment of severe forms is surgical. Reno-lymphatic disconnection is the reference procedure, with long-term success rates of 99%. This operation performed via a lumbar incision can also be performed by retroperitoneal or transperitoneal laparoscopy. The advantages of this minimally invasive incision are those classically reported in the literature.

Prognostic factors for the survival of patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma: meaning of histological typing and multifocality.

PURPOSE: We identified prognostic factors of papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) types 1 (PRCC1) and 2 (PRCC2). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1985 and 1998, 759 patients underwent surgery for renal cell carcinoma, of whom 88 (11.6%), including 69 males and 19 females with a mean age of 61.8 years (range 21.3 to 85.9) who had PRCC. Multifocality was defined as 2 or greater tumors separated by 10 mm or greater. Small basophilic cells defined PRCC1 and large eosinophilic cells defined PRCC2. Mean followup in 79 cases was 71.1 months (range 1 to 196.6). Survival rates were calculated and statistical analyses were done. RESULTS: The 88 patients underwent radical nephrectomy (65) or conservative surgery (28, that is elective in 17 and imperative in 11). Mean tumor size was 62 mm (range 10 to 190) and 41% of lesions were multifocal, independent of PRCC size, stage, grade or type. Comparing the 56 PRCC1s (63.6%) to the 32 PRCC2s (36.4%) showed that PRCC2 grade and stage were significantly higher (p = 0.024 and 0.025, respectively). A total of 51 patients (64.6%) remained relapse-free and progression-free. Local relapses occurred only after imperative conservative surgery in 2 cases (2.5%). Of the 26 deaths 15 (4 PRCC 1 and 11 PRCC 2) were tumor associated. Mean survival was 26.6 months (range 1 to 112.5). The overall 10-year survival rate was 73% with PRCC1 and PRCC2 10-year rates of 80% and 59%, respectively (p <0.003). Univariate analysis identified stage (p <0.0001), grade (p <0.0001) and histological type (p <0.003) as prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis retained stage (p = 0.006) and grade (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: PRCC multifocality was not associated with stage, grade or histological type and it seems not to be an argument against conservative surgery. Univariate analysis of PRCC prognostic factors identified stage, grade and histological type but the latter was not retained on multivariate analysis.

[Value of bootstrapping for small series of patients: application to survival analysis for 26 patients followed for bilateral sporadic renal cell carcinoma]. / Intérêt du rééchantillonage par "bootstrapping" pour les petites séries de patients: application à l'étude de la survie pour 26 patients suivis pour carcinomes à cellules rénales sporadiques bilatéraux.

OBJECTIVE: To use Bootstrapping to estimate the Kaplan-Meier survival of sporadic forms of bilateral renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Over a period of 13 years, 759 patients were operated for RCC. 26 patients had bilateral sporadic RCC (3.4%) and 23 of them were reviewed with a median follow-up of 50 months (range: 7.8 to 143.4). The 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of Kaplan-Meier survival was estimated according to the Greenwood (Gw) normalized method and by Bootstrap percentile (B*) with B = 1000. RESULTS: The overall 1-year and 5-year survival rates were 95.8% (95% CI Gw: [87.6-100] and B*: [92.1-96.4]) and 73.6% (95% CI Gw: [54.9-92.15] and B*: [72.3-86.5%]), respectively. CONCLUSION: For diseases with a low incidence, Bootstrapping can improve the precision of the Kaplan-Meier survival estimate, by providing a narrower CI. This statistical technique provides the clinician with more precise results in a study limited by a small number of patients.