Clinical study of patients with renal carcinoma surviving for more than 10 years after nephrectomy.

Of 207 patients with renal carcinoma we studied 50 who survived for more than 10 years after nephrectomy. These 50 patients were younger than the others at the time of operation and included more females. They had lower stage and lower grade tumours. Recurrence was detected in 18/50 patients and 6 died from cancer. Recurrence developed approximately 10 years after nephrectomy. Eleven patients with recurrences had metastases to a single organ and 9 received multidisciplinary treatment, mainly surgery and radiotherapy. The survival rate 10 years after nephrectomy was lower in patients with recurrences than in those without recurrent tumours and there was a significant decrease in the survival rate 17 years after nephrectomy. Although the patients had low grade and low stage tumours 10 years after nephrectomy, careful follow-up is recommended in such cases as it is possible that they may have dormant tumours.