IS FROZEN SECTION ANALYSIS IN NEPHRON SPARING SURGERY NECESSARY? A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 301 CASES

PURPOSE: One of the basic principles of nephron sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma is resection of the tumor with normal tissue margins verified by frozen section analysis. In cases of positive tumor margins the surgeon is committed to complete the local resection or to perform radical nephrectomy. In this study we retrospectively evaluated the yield of frozen section analysis performed during nephron sparing surgeries, especially concerning compatibility with the final histological report and the long-term oncological outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1988 and 2003, 172 men and 129 women with a mean age of 59 years (range 16 to 83) underwent nephron sparing surgery due to suspected renal tumors. Mean tumor size was 3.56 cm (range 1 to 12.5). Frozen section analysis was routinely performed during surgery. RESULTS: Positive tumor margins in frozen section analysis were found in 2 cases (0.7%). In both cases the tumor was centrally located. Those 2 patients underwent immediate radical nephrectomy but no residual tumor was subsequently found in the radical nephrectomy specimens. Paraffin sections disclosed positive tumor margins in 4 other cases (1.3%) in whom the frozen section analysis had shown tumor negative margins. Of the 4 patients 1 underwent radical nephrectomy for tumor recurrence after 9 months. The other 3 patients showed no evidence of disease recurrence after 26, 59 and 120 months of followup. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that frozen section analysis during nephron sparing surgery has minimal clinical significance and hence routine incorporation in urological practice should be reconsidered.     

保存肾单位的肾癌切除术适应证及疗效观察：附17例报告

目的 探讨保存肾单位的肾部切除术适应证,观察其治疗效果。方法 对１９９０～１９９８年施行的保存肾单位的肾癌切除术１７例患者进行回顾性分析,其中１１例作肾肿瘤切除术,６例作肾上极或下极切除术。结果 术后随访１～６．５年,除１年术后５年死于肿瘤转移外,其余均正常,预后满意。结论 对双侧同时发生无症状性肾癌、孤立肾伴肾癌或需靠双侧肾维持功能的肾癌,可考虑行保存肾单位的肾癌切除术;保存肾单位的肾癌切除术效     

Renal cell carcinoma in the solitary kidney: an analysis of complications and outcome after nephron sparing surgery

PURPOSE: We evaluated surgical techniques, pathological features and extended outcomes in patients with renal cell carcinoma in a solitary kidney treated with surgical excision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1970 and 1998, 76 patients underwent nephron sparing surgery for sporadic renal cell carcinoma in a solitary kidney, including 63 with tissue specimens available for pathological review who comprised the cohort. Six (9.5%) patients had a congenitally absent kidney and 57 (90.5%) had previously undergone contralateral nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. The clinical and pathological features examined were patient age at nephron sparing surgery, sex, type of nephron sparing surgery (enucleation, partial nephrectomy or ex vivo resection), tumor size, nuclear grade, histological subtype and 1997 tumor stage. Overall cancer specific, local recurrence-free and metastasis-free survival as well as early (within 30 days of nephron sparing surgery) and late (30 days to 1 year after nephron sparing surgery) complications were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to test for the associations of clinical and pathological features with outcome. RESULTS: Most patients were treated with enucleation (36.5%), standard partial nephrectomy (38.1%) or the 2 procedures (11.1%) and in 8 (12.7%) ex vivo tumor resection was done. The renal cell carcinoma histological subtypes were clear cell in 82.5% of cases, papillary in 15.9% and chromophobe in 1.6%. Grade was 1 to 3 in 10 (15.9%), 42 (66.7%) and 10 (15.9%) tumors, respectively. At 5 and 10 years the overall survival rate was 74.7% and 45.8%, the cancer specific survival rate was 80.7% and 63.7%, the local recurrence-free survival rate was 89.2% and 80.3%, and the metastasis-free survival rate was 69% and 50.4%, respectively. Tumor stage and nuclear grade were significantly associated with death from any cause, death from renal cell carcinoma and distant metastases on multivariate analysis. Notably no patient with papillary or chromophobe renal cell carcinoma died of renal cell carcinoma, or had recurrence or metastasis. The type of nephron sparing surgery was not significantly associated with outcome, although there were too few patients with recurrence to assess the association of the type of nephron sparing surgery with local recurrence. The most common early complication was acute renal failure in 12.7% of cases, while the most common late complications were proteinuria in 15.9% and renal insufficiency in 12.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The 1997 tumor stage and nuclear grade were significant predictors of death from any cause, death from renal cell carcinoma and distant metastases in patients treated with nephron sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma involving a solitary kidney. Nephron sparing surgery in a solitary kidney can be performed safely and with minimal morbidity.     

Long-term followup after nephron sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma in von Hippel-Lindau disease.

We reviewed the long-term outcome of nephron sparing surgery in 9 patients with localized bilateral renal cell carcinoma and von Hippel-Lindau disease. One patient died of metastatic renal cell carcinoma 43 months postoperatively. One patient has not had recurrent tumor and was alive at 74 months postoperatively. The remaining 7 patients (mean followup 88 months) had local recurrence of tumor in the operated kidney and a secondary renal operation was done in 6 of them. Overall, 6 patients are free of tumor but only 3 of them retain functioning native renal parenchyma. We conclude that the results of nephron sparing surgery in patients with renal cell carcinoma and von Hippel-Lindau disease are less satisfactory than in patients with sporadic renal cell carcinoma.     

Independent validation of the 2002 American Joint Committee on cancer primary tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma using a large, single institution cohort

PURPOSE: The primary tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) was updated by the American Joint Committee on Cancer in 2002. To date the new classification has not been validated using an independent group of patients and, therefore, its accuracy for predicting patient outcome is unknown. In the current study we evaluated the 2002 primary tumor classification and compared its predictive ability with that of the 1997 classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 2,746 patients treated with radical nephrectomy or nephron sparing surgery for unilateral, sporadic RCC between 1970 and 2000. Cancer specific survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The predictive abilities of the 1997 and 2002 classifications were compared using the concordance index. RESULTS: There were 812 deaths from RCC a mean of 3.3 years following nephrectomy. Median followup in patients still alive at last followup was 9 years. Estimated 5-year cancer specific survival rates by the 2002 tumor classification were 97%, 87%, 71%, 53%, 44%, 37% and 20% in patients with pT1a, pT1b, pT2, pT3a, pT3b, pT3c and pT4 RCC, respectively. The concordance index for the association between the 2002 classification and death from RCC was 0.752 compared with 0.737 for the 1997 classification, indicating that the 2002 version contained more predictive ability. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the 2002 primary tumor classification with pT1 cancers subclassified into pT1a and pT1b provides excellent stratification of patients according to cancer specific survival and it has a predictive ability that is superior to that of the 1997 classification.     

Progression and long-term survival after simple enucleation for the elective treatment of renal cell carcinoma: experience in 107 patients

PURPOSE: We present our findings in a series of T1a renal cell carcinoma treated with elective simple enucleation, specifically reporting the incidence of local recurrence, and progression-free and disease specific survival rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 107 patients who underwent elective nephron sparing surgery performed with simple enucleation from January 1989 to December 2000 were studied retrospectively. None of the patients had preoperative or intraoperative suspicion of positive nodes. All patients were free from distant metastases before surgery (M0). Patient status was last evaluated in July 2004. Mean (median, range) followup was 88.3 (84, 44 to 175) months. RESULTS: Pathological review according to the 2002 TNM classification showed that 95% (102 of 107) of tumors were pT1a, 4% (4 of 107) pT1b and 1% (1 of 107) pT3a. Mean (SD, median, range) tumor greatest dimension was 2.7 (0.93, 2.5, 0.6 to 5) cm. None of the patients died in the immediate postoperative period (within the first 30 days). There were no major complications such as bleeding and urinary leakage/urinoma requiring reoperation. The 5 and 10-year cancer specific survival was 99% and 97.8%, respectively. The 5 and 10-year progression-free survival was 98.1% and 94.7%, respectively. Overall 3 patients had disease progression (2.8%) of whom 2 (1.9%) were local recurrence, 1 alone and 1 associated with distant metastases diagnosed 12 months earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Simple tumor enucleation is a safe and acceptable approach for elective nephron sparing surgery. It provides excellent long-term progression-free and cancer specific survival rates, and is not associated with an increased risk of local recurrence compared with partial nephrectomy.     

Renal cryoablation: outcome at 3 years

PURPOSE: We report intermediate term oncological followup data on 56 patients undergoing laparoscopic renal cryoablation, of whom each completed a 3-year followup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Since September 1997, 56 patients undergoing laparoscopic renal cryoablation have completed a followup of 3 years each. The postoperative followup protocol comprised serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 1 day, months 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24, and yearly thereafter for 5 years. Computerized tomography guided needle biopsy of the cryolesion was performed 6 months postoperatively and repeated if MRI findings were abnormal. Followup data were obtained prospectively. RESULTS: For a mean renal tumor size of 2.3 cm mean intraoperative size of the created cryolesion was 3.6 cm. Sequential mean cryolesion size on MRI on postoperative 1 day, and at 3 and 6 months, and 1, 2 and 3 years was 3.7, 2.8, 2.3, 1.7, 1.2 and 0.9 cm, representing a 26%, 39%, 56%, 69% and 75% percent reduction in cryolesion size at 3 and 6 months, and 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively. At 3 years 17 cryolesions (38%) had completely disappeared on MRI. Postoperative needle biopsy identified locally persistent/recurrent renal tumor in 2 patients. In the 51 patients undergoing cryotherapy for a unilateral, sporadic renal tumor 3-year cancer specific survival was 98%. There was no open conversion, kidney loss, urinary fistula, dialysis requirement, or perirenal or port site recurrence in any patients. CONCLUSIONS: Three-year outcomes following renal cryoablation are encouraging. Longer term (5-year) data are necessary to determine the proper place of renal cryotherapy among minimally invasive, nephron sparing options.     

Impact of tumor size on the predictive ability of the pT3a primary tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma

PURPOSE: The accuracy of the pT3a primary tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma has been questioned recently. We investigated the association of perinephric and renal sinus fat invasion with death from renal cell carcinoma independent of tumor size. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 2,165 patients treated with open radical nephrectomy or nephron sparing surgery for clinically localized, sporadic pT1a, pT1b, pT2 or pT3a renal cell carcinoma between 1970 and 2002. Patients with pT3a disease were then subdivided into 3 groups according to tumor size to match the size definitions for the pT1a, pT1b and pT2 tumor classifications. RESULTS: There were 834 patients with pT1a RCC, 674 with pT1b, 494 with pT2 and 163 with pT3a RCC. At last followup 317 patients died of RCC at a median of 3.8 years following surgery. The median followup among the 1,087 patients still alive at last followup was 7.8 years (range 0 to 34). The risk ratios (95% CI) for the association between fat invasion and death from RCC among patients with tumors 4 cm or smaller, 4 to 7 cm and more than 7 cm were 6.15 (1.84-20.50, p = 0.003), 4.12 (2.50-6.78, p <0.001) and 2.13 (1.53-2.97, p <0.001), respectively. These associations remained statistically significant in a multivariate analysis that included nuclear grade and histological coagulative tumor necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral perinephric and renal sinus fat invasion was associated with death from RCC independent of tumor size. Our data contradict reports suggesting that pT3a tumors should be reclassified according to tumor size only.     

保留肾组织手术治疗肾癌

１９８９年１２月～１９９７年４月行保留肾组织手术治疗肾癌１４例，其中双侧肾癌５例，对侧肾有病变或潜在功能受损的肾癌３例，对侧肾正常肾癌６例。肿瘤平均直径２９ｃｍ，病理分期为Ｔ１、Ｔ２。１４例中５例行剜出术，９例行肾部分切除术。本组术后无外科并发症，平均随访４６６个月，无瘤存活１２例，无局部复发。存活时间超过７年者２例，５年者４例，３年者１例，１年者２例，半年者３例。保留肾组织手术是早期局限性肾癌的有效治疗方法，可用于对侧肾正常、肿瘤体积较小的早期肾癌的治疗     

肾癌保留肾单位手术的临床价值(附17例报告)

目的　评价肾癌保留肾单位手术的临床价值。　方法　回顾性研究 17例行保留肾单位手术的肾癌患者临床资料 ,其中单侧 15例 ,双肾异时性肾癌且一侧为多发肿瘤 2例。绝对指征 2例 ,相对指征 6例 ,选择性指征 9例。肿瘤直径 2～ 6cm ,均为T1期 (1997年TNM标准 ) ;行改良肾肿瘤剜除术 (切缘于肾肿瘤外 1cm正常肾实质处 ) 15例 ,肾上极切除术 1例 ,楔形切除术 1例。 2 0例同期肾癌临床及分期相当但行根治性手术的患者资料作随访对照 ,并作生存率时序检验。　结果　 17例患者随访 3～ 6 3个月 ,平均 35 .2个月 ,未见并发症及残肾肿瘤复发。无瘤生存率与根治性手术者相近。　结论　肾癌保留肾单位手术安全、有效 ,适合于对侧肾功能正常、一侧局限的偶发肾肿瘤患者。     

Laparoscopic tumorectomy of renal carcinoma recurred in remaining kidney

Nephron sparing surgery is the standard treatment for small, peripherally located renal cell carcinoma. To reduce the morbidity of nephron sparing surgery laparoscopy was proposed. A case of renal carcinoma recurred in the remaining kidney successfully treated by laparoscopic approach is reported.     

Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: evaluation of long-term oncological outcome

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) has emerged as a viable alternative to open surgery for renal tumors less than 4 cm. We present oncological followup of patients treated with laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 1996 and December 2001, 48 patients who underwent LPN for clinically localized tumors were found to have pathologically proven renal cell carcinoma. Medical and operative records were reviewed for clinical characteristics, pathological findings and followup information. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 59.7 years (range 32 to 81) and mean followup was 37.7 months (range 22 to 84). Mean tumor size was 2.4 cm (range 1.0 to 4.0). Final pathological stage was pT1 in 42 patients (87.5%) and pT3a in 6 (12.5%). Histology revealed clear cell in 32 patients (66.7%), papillary in 10 (20.8%), chromophobe in 3 (6.3%), collecting duct in 1 (2.1%) and unclassified in 2 (4.2%). Intraoperative frozen section biopsies revealed negative margins in all cases. Final surgical margins were positive in 1 patient (2.1%). Followup evaluation consisting of physical examination and yearly cross-sectional imaging, which revealed no recurrences in 46 of 48 patients (95.8%). One patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease was found to have local recurrence 18 months after LPN and observation was elected. The second patient had recurrence in the same kidney away from the original tumor site approximately 4 years later. CONCLUSIONS: LPN is an effective treatment modality for clinically localized renal cell carcinoma. Oncological outcomes at a mean followup of 3 years are promising, although the durability of oncological outcomes must be determined.     

保留肾单位手术治疗肾肿瘤18例分析

目的：评估保留肾单位手术治疗肾肿瘤的效果。方法：1995年4月－2001年5月，采用保留肾单位手术治疗肾肿瘤18例，恶性3例，良性15例，孤立肾1例，17例单侧肿瘤对侧肾正常，肿瘤直径1.0-8.0cm，平均3.5cm。17例行部分肾切除术，1例行肿瘤剜除术。结果：18例手术成功，随访2－72个月，平均32个月，未发现并发症和肿瘤复发。结论：保留肾单位治疗肾肿瘤安全有效，其临床应用越来越广。     

pT2 classification for renal cell carcinoma. Can its accuracy be improved?

PURPOSE: The 2002 tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) classifies pT2 tumors as more than 7 cm in greatest dimension, limited to the kidney. In this study we determined whether a size cutoff point exists within pT2 tumors and whether such subclassification would further improve the accuracy of the current tumor classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 544 patients with unilateral, sporadic pT2 RCC treated with radical nephrectomy or nephron sparing surgery between 1970 and 2000. The association of tumor size with death from RCC was examined using martingale residuals from a Cox proportional hazards regression model to determine the optimal size cutoff point. RESULTS: There were 204 deaths from RCC a median of 3.8 years following nephrectomy. Univariately tumor size was significantly associated with death from RCC (risk ratio 1.08, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.13, p <0.001). A scatterplot of tumor size vs expected risk of death per patient suggested that a cutoff point between 9 and 10 cm was appropriate. When adjusted for regional lymph node involvement and distant metastases, the 10 cm cutoff point performed better than the 9 cm point (risk ratio 1.42, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.90, p = 0.017 vs 1.22, 95% 0.86 to 1.72, p = 0.268). Therefore, we propose using a 10 cm cutoff point to subclassify patients into pT2a and pT2b. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the prognostic accuracy of the 2002 pT2 tumor classification can be further improved by subclassifying patients with tumors greater than 7 and less than 10 cm into a pT2a category, and those with tumors 10 cm or greater into a pT2b category.     

Mayo Clinic Scottsdale experience with laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery for renal tumors

PURPOSE: Nephron sparing surgery is an accepted treatment for small renal masses, of which many have been detected incidentally due to the widespread use of advanced imaging techniques. We report our experience with laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From May 2000 to May 2002 a total of 20 laparoscopic partial nephrectomies were performed in 19 patients. The kidney was mobilized to allow adequate dissection, hemostasis and inspection of the kidney. Cautery, a harmonic scalpel and a TissueLink (TissueLink Medical, Inc., Dover, New Hampshire) device were variably used for dissection and hemostasis. Further hemostasis was then achieved using an argon beam laser with Fibrillar (Fibrillar Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey), fibrin glue or the TissueLink device. Intact removal and biopsy of the lesion base were done to assess margin status. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 66 years (range 41 to 80). Mean tumor size was 2.1 cm. (range 1 to 7) and average operative time was 130 minutes (range 60 to 210). Mean hospital stay was 2.2 days. Mean estimated blood loss was 120 ml. (range 20 to 400) and no blood transfusions or conversions to an open procedure were required. Complications included intraoperative fragmentation of a tumor in 1 case, postoperative dyspnea, postoperative bleeding and pneumonia in 1. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for small renal tumors was performed safely and effectively. Technique depended on the size and location of the mass. Long-term followup is required to compare cancer control with that of open nephron sparing surgery.     

Nephron sparing surgery for suspected malignancy: open surgery compared to laparoscopy with selective use of hand assistance

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery has been reported rarely, likely due to technical difficulty when using only laparoscopic instrumentation. Hand assisted techniques may facilitate the procedure in select cases while maintaining the benefits of minimally invasive surgery. We prospectively compared the laparoscopic with selective hand assistance and open surgical approaches to nephron sparing surgery for suspected malignancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared our initial 10 laparoscopic nephron sparing procedures for suspected malignancy, including 8 with hand assistance, in 9 patients (11 tumors) with 11 consecutive open surgical procedures for similar indications. Standard laparoscopic technique was used in cases of an exophytic mass with shallow penetration into the parenchyma. Otherwise hand assistance was used. Recovery data were obtained prospectively using self-administered questionnaires. RESULTS: Although mean operative time was 24% greater in the laparoscopic group, recovery was more favorable than in the open surgical group, as evidenced by 62% less parenteral narcotic use, 43% shorter hospital stay, 64% more rapid return to normal nonstrenuous activity, and improved pain and physical health scores 2 and 6 weeks postoperatively. In each group mean lesion diameter was 2.4 cm., 8 of 11 neoplasms were malignant and no margins were positive for malignancy. There were no conversions to open surgery and no major complications in the laparoscopic group. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery appears to have an advantage over open surgery in terms of patient recovery. Facilitation by hand assistance may make laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery a more widely available, minimally invasive alternative to open surgery for small, favorably located renal tumors.     

Simple enucleation for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma between 4 and 7 cm in greatest dimension: progression and long-term survival

PURPOSE: We present our findings in a series of patients treated with simple enucleation for RCC 4 to 7 cm in greatest dimension. We specifically report the incidence of local and systemic recurrence, and the disease specific survival rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and pathological data on 71 patients who underwent nephron sparing surgery by simple enucleation between 1986 and 2004 for sporadic, unilateral, pathologically confirmed, 4 to 7 cm RCC. Patients with a solitary kidney due to previous RCC treated with radical nephrectomy were excluded from study. None of the patients had preoperative or intraoperative suspicion of positive nodes. All patients were free of distant metastases before surgery (M0). Patient status was last evaluated in May 2005. Mean followup was 74 months (median 51, range 12 to 225). RESULTS: Pathological review according to the 2002 TNM classification showed that 42% of the tumors (30 of 71) were pT1a, 44% (31 of 71) were pT1b and 14% (10 of 71) were pT3a. Mean tumor greatest dimension +/- SD was 4.7 +/- 0.81 cm (median 4.5, range 4.0 to 7.0) cm. None of the patients died within the first 30 days of surgery. There were no major complications requiring open reoperation, such as bleeding and urinary leakage/urinoma. Five and 8-year cancer specific survival was 85.1% and 81.6%, respectively. Five-year cancer specific survival in patients with pT1a (4 cm), pT1b and pT3a disease was 95.7%, 83.3% and 58.3%, respectively (pT1a vs pT1b p = 0.254, pT1a vs pT3a p = 0.006 and pT1b vs pT3a p = 0.143). Overall 10 patients experienced progressive disease (14.9%), of whom 3 had local recurrence (4.5%) alone or local recurrence associated with distant metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Simple tumor enucleation is a useful and acceptable approach to nephron sparing surgery for 4 to 7 cm RCC. It provides long-term cancer specific survival rates similar to those of radical nephrectomy and is not associated with a greater risk of local recurrence than partial nephrectomy for RCC less than 4 cm in greatest dimension.     

Percutaneous management of renal pelvic urothelial tumors: long-term followup

PURPOSE: We present the long-term outcome of percutaneous resection of renal urothelial tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 24 patients underwent primary percutaneous resection of renal urothelial tumor. Patients with low stage pT0-1 disease were treated primarily with percutaneous surgery. All pelvicaliceal tumors were taken for biopsy and treated with percutaneous resection. Patients with multi-segmental pelvicaliceal system involvement, stage greater than pT1, high grade histology or additional ureteral tumors were considered for nephroureterectomy. Topical chemotherapy (mitomycin C or epirubicin) was administered via nephrostomy tube or intravesical instillation after Double-J stent (Medical Engineering Corp., New York, New York) insertion. Surveillance included upper tract cytology, nephroscopy or fiberoptic ureterorenoscopy. Long-term followup was correlated with histopathology. RESULTS: Of the 24 cases 2 had squamous cell carcinoma, 5 had grade III transitional cell carcinoma, 15 had grade I to II transitional cell carcinoma and 2 had no tumor. Control was established with initial percutaneous resection in 18 (75%) cases and second look nephroscopy in 4. Early recurrences were detected by excretory urography (IVP) in 3 cases, small pelvic recurrences by IVP in 2, fiberoptic ureterorenoscopy in 2 and bladder tumors by flexible cystoscopy in 3 after 1 year. A total of 10 nephroscopies were performed in 5 cases, 24 flexible uretereorenoscopies in 9 and IVP in 6. Three synchronous, grade I bladder tumors were managed conventionally. All patients with high grade disease died of malignancy except one (with no further treatment) and 6 of the 15 patients with low grade noninvasive transitional cell carcinoma underwent nephroureterectomy during followup either due to progression of disease, concomitant tumor or complications. Two patients with solitary kidneys died of renal failure unrelated to malignancy. High grade tumors or tumors greater than T1 were treated with nephroureterectomy early during management. There was no perioperative mortality and 9 (60%) of the low grade cases the kidneys were preserved at a mean followup +/- SD of 64 +/- 15 months. All excised tracks from patients who underwent nephroureterectomy and the renal fossae were free of tumor on histopathological examination. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous resection of transitional cell tumor should be considered primarily in patients with early stage disease excluding tumors crossing caliceal infundibula, ureteropelvic junction tumor, tumor extending over multiple calices and synchronous ureteral tumors. The long-term outcome of low grade tumors is good and they should be managed by either form of minimally invasive surgery. Nephron sparing is possible in a large percentage of low grade disease but high grade tumors should be treated with nephroureterectomy.     

The role of nephron sparing surgery for metastatic (pM1) renal cell carcinoma

PURPOSE: Studies have demonstrated increased time to progression when cytoreductive nephrectomy is performed for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. We evaluated the role of nephron sparing surgery in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected all patients with pM1 renal cell carcinoma treated with nephron sparing surgery or radical nephrectomy, and all patients with pM0 renal cell carcinoma undergoing nephron sparing surgery for solitary kidney from 1970 to 2002 from the Mayo Clinic Nephrectomy Registry. RESULTS: We identified 16 patients who underwent nephron sparing surgery for pM1 renal cell carcinoma. Solitary kidney was present in 12, 3 had bilateral synchronous disease and 1 had elective nephron sparing surgery. Cancer specific survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 81%, 49% and 49%, respectively. We identified 404 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for pM1 renal cell carcinoma. Cancer specific survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 51%, 21% and 13%, respectively. The pM1 nephron sparing surgery for solitary kidney cases were more likely to have early (33% vs 10%, p = 0.009) or late (50% vs 19%, p = 0.018) complications compared with pM1 radical nephrectomy cases. There were no significant differences in early (p = 0.475) or late (p = 0.350) complications between pM1 nephron sparing surgery cases and 139 pM0 nephron sparing surgery cases. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer specific survival rates in pM1 nephron sparing surgery cases were comparable to pM1 radical nephrectomy cases. Although there were differences in early and late complications between the pM1 nephron sparing surgery and pM1 radical nephrectomy groups, there were no differences when compared with imperative pM0 nephron sparing surgery cases. This study demonstrates that nephron sparing surgery can achieve adequate cytoreductive therapy while preserving renal function, with postoperative complication rates similar to those of pM0 nephron sparing surgery cases.     

腹腔镜保留肾单位手术治疗小肾癌18例报告

目的探讨腹腔镜保留肾单位手术治疗小肾癌的方法和疗效。方法选择小肾癌患者18例,肿瘤直径1．5～3．0cm,经后腹腔途径腹腔镜保留肾单位肿瘤切除11例,经腹腔途径手术7例。术中距瘤体0．5～1cm用超声刀切除肿瘤,肿瘤床多处活检送快速病理。结果幅例手术均获成功,无中转开放。手术时间85—140rain,平均110min;术中出血量50～600ml,平均145ml;术后住院时间8～13天,平均9．6天。术后随访8～30个月,未见肿瘤局部复发,未见转移,切口未见种植。结论腹腔镜保留肾单位手术治疗小肾癌,创伤小、临床效果肯定,可作为小肾癌首选治疗方法。