Proliferative activity, angiogenesis and nuclear morphometry in renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Prognostic parameters other than tumor stage and grade are essential for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. This study was undertaken to determine the usefulness of cellular proliferation, angiogenesis and nuclear morphometry in predicting the biological aggressiveness of RCC. METHODS: Surgical specimens of 70 patients with RCC were investigated by conventional histology, Ki-67 immunostaining and stereological assessment of angiogenesis and mean nuclear volume. RESULTS: There was no difference in disease-specific survival with respect to sex, age and histopathological type (except sarcomatoid and other types). The survival was significantly lower and the chance of metastases was higher in the group with higher proliferative activity (P=0.007). There was no relation between angiogenesis, mean nuclear volume, stage and survival. There was a significant relation between both Fuhrman and WHO grades, tumor stage and survival. Histopathological type, grade, angiogenesis and mean nuclear volume failed to predict recurrences and/or metastases. In multivariate analysis, only TNM stage and proliferative activity were found to be independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to tumor grade and stage, proliferative activity of a given RCC may have the potential to identify patients with an impaired prognosis.     

Prognostic significance of nuclear morphometry in renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To assess nuclear morphometry as a predictor of prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 65 consecutive patients with RCC who underwent radical nephrectomy and were followed up for a median (range) of 80 (27-138) months. Nuclear morphometry was assessed using a computer-assisted image analysis system on histological sections and characterized by five nuclear variables (area, perimeter, major and minor diameter, and form factor). From the patients' records and pathology specimens, the clinicopathological prognostic variables (histological type, Fuhrman grade and pathological stage) were recorded. The proliferative activity was assessed using immunohistochemical staining with Ki-67 antibody. RESULTS: Higher values of mean nuclear area, perimeter, and major and minor diameter were significantly related to higher nuclear grade, proliferative activity and advanced tumour stage. They were significant predictors of disease progression and survival, together with grade, stage, sarcomatoid histology and proliferative activity. Of all significant prognostic factors predicting progression-free survival, only stage was independent (T4 vs T1, hazard ratio 6.55, 95% CI 1.63-26.13, P=0.008). CONCLUSION: Although the significance of these preliminary results must not be overstated, nuclear morphometry might provide significant prognostic information in predicting survival and tumours at high risk of progression in RCC.     

The role of volume-weighted mean nuclear volume in predicting tumour biology and clinical behaviour in patients with prostate cancer undergoing watchful waiting

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the volume-weighted mean nuclear volume (MNV, the only means by which unbiased estimates of three-dimensional variables can be obtained from a two-dimensional section by stereological methods) at diagnosis correlates with tumour biology and clinical behaviour in patients with prostate cancer treated by watchful waiting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prognostic study, 64 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were followed prospectively with initial expectant management. The median (mean, range) follow-up was 22 (27, 6.0-68) months. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) doubling time (PSADT) was calculated by linear regression. The MNV was estimated using biopsy specimens, based on a stereological method, and compared with PSADT and traditional clinicopathological variables. RESULTS: PSADT was significantly associated with MNV, but not with other clinicopathological variables. The PSA 'rapid-riser' subset (PSADTor=median value) and PSA-stable subsets (P = 0.0017 and 0.004, respectively). On multivariate analysis using a stepwise Cox proportional hazards regression, only MNV remained independently significant as a predictor of clinical progression among the clinicopathological variables (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that cancer cell nuclear volume is significantly associated with tumour biology and behaviour in patients with prostate cancer. Although further study with a larger patient population is needed to confirm the findings, estimates of MNV may be an important prognostic indicator in men treated with watchful waiting.     

The role of volume weighted mean nuclear volume in predicting the prognosis of patients with primary transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract: a report of 102 new cases

PURPOSE: We compare estimates of volume weighted mean nuclear volume (MNV) with histological grading to determine the prognosis of primary transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract using a Cox proportional hazards model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 102 patients who underwent nephroureterectomy for primary transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract at our hospital between April 1981 and March 1997. Traditional prognostic factors, such as patient age, sex, stage and grade, multiplicity and unbiased estimates of MNV were analyzed with respect to disease recurrence and survival. RESULTS: Estimates of mean nuclear volume were significantly larger for patients with than without lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0031). No prognostic factor significantly correlated with recurrence of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. For pTxN0M0 cases univariate analysis revealed that histological grade (p = 0.0018), pathological T stage (p = 0.0030) and estimates of MNV (p = 0.0001) correlated significantly with disease specific survival, and multivariate stepwise regression analysis revealed that estimate of MNV was the only powerful predictor of prognosis (p = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that estimate of MNV is an important predictor of prognosis for transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract. We recommend MNV estimate as a supportive method for subjective histological grading.     

Survival in patients with rare subtypes of renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the survival of patients with rare malignant histological subtypes of renal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Heidelberg classification of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) divides tumours into clear cell carcinoma (CCC), papillary cancer (PC), chromophobic cancer (ChC) and collecting duct carcinoma (CDC). Sarcomatoid tumours are in a different subgroup treated as a final stage of histological progression. Between 1990 and 1997, 319 nephrectomies were undertaken because of RCC in 317 patients. In 42 patients (13%) the pathological findings showed other than CCC; in 13 PC was confirmed histologically, in nine ChC, in 11 a mixed type of CCC and sarcomatoid type, in seven a sarcomatoid tumour and in four, CDC. RESULTS: One patient of the 13 with PC and two of the nine with ChC died. The worst prognosis was in those with CDC, CCC-sarcomatoid and sarcomatoid tumours, as all these patients died. CONCLUSION: The histopathological differentiation of RCC into subtypes gives additional useful prognostic information.     

Prognostic significance of common preoperative laboratory variables in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic significance of common preoperative laboratory variables evaluated before surgery for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the records of 355 patients who had surgery for clear cell RCC, assessing: clinical factors, including preoperative laboratory measurements, i.e. haemoglobin level, leukocyte count, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum calcium, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), albumin, bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and red blood cells in urine; and pathological factors, with the survival rates after surgery. RESULTS: The presence of metastasis, tumour stage and tumour size, with the ESR and ALP before surgery, were identified as significant prognostic factors for progression-free survival in a multivariate analysis. The same factors were significant independent factors for disease-specific survival, except for ESR and ALP, which were nearly statistically significant. When limited to non-metastatic tumours only, the multivariate analysis showed that ESR and ALP, with tumour stage, grade, size and necrosis, were independent prognostic factors for disease-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Along with traditionally accepted prognostic factors, these results suggest that common laboratory variables assessed before surgery, e.g. ESR and ALP, might also be useful in assessing the prognosis for patients with non-metastatic clear cell RCC. Including various laboratory variables in prognostic algorithms for RCC should be considered after further validation in RCCs of various histological subtypes and stages.     

Long-term survival and prognostic factors in thymic epithelial tumours.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to analyze long-term survival and the prognostic significance of some factors after surgical resection of thymic epithelial tumours. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of clinical and histopathological data on 132 patients operated on for thymic tumours, from 1970 and 2001. Histologic diagnosis based on the new WHO classification system was made by a single pathologist. A univariate and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors predicting survival was carried out. RESULTS: There were: 108 complete resections (81.8%), 12 partial resections (9.1%) and 12 biopsies (9.1%). Overall 5, 10 and 15-year survival rate was 72, 61 and 52.5%, respectively. The Masaoka staging system showed 44 stage I, 18 stage II, 52 stage III and 18 stage IV. Histologic results were: 14 subtype A, 31 AB, 20 B1, 28 B2, 29 B3 and 10 C; the respective proportions of invasive tumour (stage II-IV) was 28.6, 58.1, 50, 75, 86.2 and 100%. There were 16 tumour recurrences (14.8%) of 108 radically resected thymomas, 10 were treated with radical re-resection. In univariate analysis, four prognostic factors were statistically significant: radical resection, Masaoka clinical staging, WHO histologic subtype and resectable tumour recurrence. In multivariate analysis, the independent factors predicting long-term survival were WHO histology and Masaoka stage. CONCLUSIONS: The WHO histologic classification seems to be the most significant prognostic factor reflecting the invasiveness of the thymic tumour. Completeness of resection and Masaoka stage I and II assure a better survival. Unresectable recurrence of thymic tumour predicted a worse prognosis.     

Prognostic factors of renal cell carcinoma with extension into inferior vena cava

Objective:   To evaluate the prognosis of our series of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and tumor thrombus involving inferior vena cava (IVC) treated with nephrectomy and thrombectomy.
Methods:   In 46 patients with unilateral RCC extending into IVC who underwent nephrectomy and thrombectomy (T3b in 38 patients, T3c in 6, T4 in 2, N+ in 15, M1 in 21), overall and cancer-specific survival rates were estimated, and the univariable and multivariable analysis were carried out to determine the prognostic factors among age, gender, performance status, fever, inflammatory laboratory parameters, nodal and distant metastasis, tumor thrombus level, pathological parameters and postoperative interferon-α administration.
Results:   The median age was 66.5 (range 35–79) years. The median follow-up was 18.0 (mean 36.7 ± 38.7) months. The overall and cancer-specific 5-year survival rates were 32.9% and 40.0%, respectively. The univariate analysis revealed that fever (hazard ratio: HR 4.03), C-reactive protein (HR 4.89), grade of tumor cell (HR 3.83), and lymph node metastasis (HR 5.99) were independent prognostic factors of cause-specific survival in all patients. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that lymph node metastasis (HR 4.13) was the only independent prognostic factor of cause-specific survival. The extension level or postoperative interferon-α administration did not influence the prognosis of patients with tumor thrombus involving IVC.
Conclusions:   Aggressive surgery should be considered first in RCC patients with any levels of tumor thrombus. However, patients with both IVC involvement and nodal metastasis showed significantly poor prognosis, and development of novel intensive multidisciplinary therapies will be needed.     

Histopathological analysis of angiogenic factors in renal cell carcinoma

AIM: The present study was carried out to clarify whether a histopathological analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) can help predict the outcome of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We examined the expression of VEGF, TGF-beta1 and MMP-2 in a large series of RCC with a long follow-up, based on histopathological factors and survival. METHODS: Immunostaining for VEGF, TGF-beta1 and MMP-2 was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 84 patients with RCC who underwent nephrectomy at our institution between 1985 to 2000. The microvessel density (MVD) of tumor tissue was measured after it immunohistochemically stained with CD105 (Endoglin) monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: A significant association was observed in the expression of VEGF and TGF-beta1 regarding the stage (P < 0.01, P < 0.01), nuclear grade (P < 0.01, P < 0.01) and MVD (P < 0.001, P < 0.001), respectively. However, no correlation was found among the results of MMP-2, nuclear grade and MVD. A multivariate analysis demonstrated both the nuclear grade and MVD to be independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that the expression of both VEGF and/or TGF-beta1 can be useful predictive prognostic factors RCC. In addition, a multivariate analysis demonstrated MVD to be an independent prognostic factor of RCC.     

肾癌的病理类型与预后的关系

目的探讨肾癌的病理类型与预后的关系。方法对315例肾癌患者根据病情选择相应的手术治疗和病理分型,并进行病例随访。以Kaplan-Meier法计算生存率。Cox回归模型对预后影响因子进行分析。结果其中透明细胞癌202例(71.9%),颗粒细胞癌51例(18.1%),混合性腺癌15例(5.3%),乳头状腺癌7例(2.5%),集合管癌4例(1.4%),肉瘤样肾癌2例(0.7%)。Cox回归模型多因素分析显示病理类型可能是一个独立的影响预后的因子。透明细胞癌、颗粒细胞癌和混合性腺癌患者的3年、5年生存率差别无统计学意义。7例乳头状腺癌仅1例死亡。4例集合管癌和2例肉瘤样癌均已死亡,两者平均存活时间分别为6.3和5.5月。结论肾癌的病理分型对预后有一定的预测价值;乳头状腺癌预后优于其他类型肾癌;集合管癌和肉瘤样癌预后较差。     

Factors of importance for prediction of survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, treated with or without nephrectomy

OBJECTIVE: The indications for nephrectomy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma remain controversial. A number of variables were analysed to identify factors that might predict the survival time, and these factors were used to obtain guidance as to which patients might benefit from palliative nephrectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records for 106 consecutive patients with primary metastatic renal cell carcinoma, including clinicopathological factors, routine laboratory data and metastatic spread. The association of the different factors to survival time was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: A number of factors correlated to survival time in univariate analysis, including solitary versus multiple metastases, serum albumin and DNA ploidy, but after Cox multivariate analysis their significance was lost. The remaining independent prognostic factors were performance status, number of metastatic sites, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), calcium in serum and vein invasion with tumour thrombus formation. The factors with no association to survival time were the metastatic sites, tumour size and nuclear grade. Patients treated with nephrectomy had a significantly longer survival time than those who did not undergo nephrectomy (p < 0.001). None of the 28 patients who did not undergo nephrectomy survived for 2 years, compared with 38 of the 78 patients who were nephrectomized. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who can be expected to survive longer, and who might be recommended for nephrectomy despite metastatic disease, would have the following independent factors: a good performance status, metastases limited to one organ, low ESR, normal calcium in serum and no tumour thrombus formation.     

Histological subtyping and nuclear grading of renal cell carcinoma and their implications for survival: a retrospective nation-wide study of 629 patients

OBJECTS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the current WHO histological subtyping and Fuhrman nuclear grading on the survival of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective population-based study was carried out on all patients with a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of RCC in Iceland between 1971 and 2000. Fuhrman grade, TNM stage, and survival were evaluated and multivariate analysis applied in order to determine prognostic factors. RESULTS: Out of 629 patients (387 males, 242 females, mean age 64 years), 558 (88.7%) had clear cell, 53 (8.4%) papillary, and 13 (2.1%) chromophobe RCC. Patient demographics were comparable for the two major subtypes, but chromophobe RCCs were larger in size and were diagnosed at a younger age. Clear cell RCCs were more often of higher grades (G3+G4, 48.4%) and at advanced TNM stages (III+IV, 59.3%) than papillary RCCs (22.6% and 34% respectively, p<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed a strong correlation between grade, tumor size, and stage (p<0.001). Chromophobe RCCs had a better survival in univariate analysis than both papillary and clear cell RCCs (84.6% vs. 66.5% and 54.9% 5-year disease specific survival, p<0.001). However, in the multivariate analysis, only the patient's age, calendar year of diagnosis, TNM stage, and nuclear grade were independent prognostic factors of survival. CONCLUSION: In this complete nation-wide series nuclear grading is important in predicting survival of patients with RCC. It is strongly related to both tumor size and stage, with stage being by far the strongest prognostic factor. Different histological subtypes confer different survival. However, in spite of the distinctive cytogenetic and molecular characteristics of the subtypes, the survival difference is to a large extent due to differences in grade and particularly stage.     

Endoglin (CD105) expression in human renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic potential of endoglin (CD105) expression in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as endoglin is a cell membrane glycoprotein expressed in tumour-associated vascular endothelium and a marker of angiogenesis; intratumoral microvessel density assessed by endoglin staining has prognostic significance in some neoplasms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tumour samples from 210 patients with RCC (168 conventional), diagnosed between 1982 and 1997, were assessed using the tissue microarray technique with immunohistochemical staining for endoglin. The expression of endoglin was related to clinical variables and survival. RESULTS: Of the tumours, 75% expressed endoglin, and in conventional RCC the expression was inversely correlated to the Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage (P = 0.008) and nuclear grade (P = 0.01). There was no correlation between endoglin expression and gender, age, tumour size or cell type. Patients with conventional RCC and high endoglin expression had a more favourable prognosis than those with tumours with lower expression (P = 0.04). A multivariate analysis of prognostic factors showed that TNM stage and nuclear grade were independent predictors of prognosis. Endoglin expression did not add further prognostic information. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that endoglin expression is inversely related to stage and grade in RCC, and that it is associated with prognosis.     

Significant Prognostic Factors for 5-Year Survival after Curative Resection of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background : Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients occasionally die of RCC even after curative resection. In this study, we investigated prognostic factors between survivors for more than 5 years and patients who died within 5 years after curative resection.
Methods : We retrospectively studied 111 patients who underwent RCC curative resection and were followed for more than 5 years. Patient survival at 5 years after curative resection was regarded as the end-point of this analysis. Statistical differences of 19 prognostic factors between surviving and deceased patients were determined using logistic regression analysis.
Results : Eighteen of the 111 patients died of RCC during the 5-year follow-up period. Of the 19 prognostic factors evaluated, univariate analysis showed significant differences in the body temperature, hemoglobin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR), α₂-globulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, tumor size, Robson's stage, T classification (renal capsular involvement), pathological grade, and mode of tumor infiltration. Five significant variables (body temperature, ESR, α₂-globulin, fibrinogen, and tumor size) were excluded from multivariate analysis because greater than 10% of the data was missing. The TNM staging system was selected as the representative variable for stage for multivariate analysis. Using the remaining 5 significant variables (hemoglobin, CRP, T stage, pathological grade, and mode of tumor infiltration), multivariate analysis showed that CRP ( P =0.01 26) and T stage ( P =0.0490) were the most important prognostic factors.
Conclusion : From this analysis, CRP and renal capsular involvement were the most important factors predicting survival for greater than 5 years after curative resection of RCC.     

Microvascular tumour invasion in renal cell carcinoma: the most important prognostic factor

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of microvascular invasion (MVI) in the primary lesion for predicting tumour behaviour in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as reliable clinical prognostic factors would be very valuable. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MVI was assessed in 230 patients with clinically localized RCC (stages T1-4NxM0) who had a radical nephrectomy and/or nephron-sparing surgery. The median (range) follow-up was 48 (3-130) months. The impact of MVI on disease progression and its correlation with clinical and histopathological factors was analysed, including whether patients were symptomatic or not at presentation, Fuhrman nuclear grade, tumour size, pathological stage and lymph node metastasis. Regression analyses and survival curves were used to determine if MVI was associated with the prognosis of RCC. RESULTS: There was MVI in 59 patients (26%); of these, 46% developed disease recurrence. Among the 171 patients with no MVI, only 11 (6%) had tumour recurrence. MVI was associated with tumour diameter, nuclear grade, pathological stage, lymph node metastasis and the presence of sarcomatous elements in the tumour. Multivariate analysis showed that MVI was an independent predictor of disease recurrence and the most important factor related to death. CONCLUSION: MVI is an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with RCC.     

Renal cell carcinoma in adults 40 years old or less: young age is an independent prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival

OBJECTIVES: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is uncommon in young adults. Based on the few studies published to date, it is difficult to determine whether this tumour has a particular progression pattern. This retrospective, multicentre study analysed RCC in young patients, defined as 相似文献   

Unclassified renal cell carcinoma: a report of 56 cases

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Unclassified RCC represents 0.7–5.7% of renal tumours. Limited reported data from two series suggests that unclassified RCC is an aggressive form of RCC, mainly because most cases are at an advanced stage at presentation, but overall and cancer‐specific survival were not significantly different between unclassified and clear‐cell RCC in an additional series of 38 patients. Our study of 56 cases of unclassified RCC describes the pathological features that can be applied to predict prognosis on a daily basis. In particular nuclear grade, TNM classification, tumour coagulative necrosis, tumour size, microvascular invasion and 2004 WHO histotype are independent predictors of disease‐free and cancer‐specific survival.

OBJECTIVE

• ? To evaluate the clinicopathological features and outcomes of 56 patients with unclassified renal cell carcinoma (RCC) meeting 2004 World Health Organization diagnostic criteria.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• ? Urological pathology files of the participating institutions were reviewed and cases of unclassified RCC that met the inclusion criteria were retrieved.
• ? Nuclear grade, pT status, tumour size, regional lymph node involvement, distant metastases, coagulative tumour necrosis, mucin and sarcomatoid differentiation were evaluated in radical nephrectomy or nephron‐sparing specimens.
• ? Significant factors in univariate analysis were then assessed by a multivariate analysis of independent prognostic factors using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis.

RESULTS

• ? Fifty‐six cases met the histological criteria for unclassified RCC. Thirty‐four (61%) cases were categorized as unrecognizable cell type (mean overall survival 47 months; median 36 months), 20 (36%) as composites of recognized types (mean overall survival 36 months; median 26 months), and two (4%) (mean survival 16 months; median 16 months) as pure sarcomatoid morphology without recognizable epithelial elements.
• ? Cox multivariate analysis showed nuclear grade (P= 0.020), stage (P < 0.001), tumour coagulative necrosis (P= 0.018), tumour size (P < 0.001), microvascular invasion (P < 0.001) and tumour histotype (P= 0.028) to be independent predictors of disease‐free survival, with tumour size being the most significant (hazard ratio [HR] 9.068, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.231–25.453).
• ? Nuclear grade (P= 0.026), stage (P < 0.001), tumour coagulative necrosis (P < 0.001), tumour size (P= 0.044), microvascular invasion (P < 0.001), tumour recurrence after surgery (P < 0.001) and tumour histotype (P= 0.056) were independent predictors of cancer‐specific survival, with tumour recurrence after surgery being the most significant (HR 14.713, 95% CI 5.329–40.622).

CONCLUSION

• ? The prognosis of patients with unclassified RCC seems to be related to clinicopathological features known to be relevant in common forms of RCC.

     

Microscopic venous invasion: a prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Microscopic venous invasion (MVI) is characterized by local destruction of the endothelium by a tumor. The prognostic value of MVI in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is not well established. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1980 until 1990, 255 patients (169 men and 86 women), aged 16-87 (mean 60) years were treated by radical nephrectomy for N0M0 RCC. There were 9 pT1, 163 pT2, 30 pT3a, 34 pT3b, and 19 pT3ab (TNM 1992). The median follow-up time was 74 months. MVI was determined by a double-blind histological study with immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: MVI was noted in 74 patients (29%). MVI significantly increased metastatic progression (p = 0.003). Only stage and Fuhrman's grade were significant factors for metastatic progression in a multivariate analysis. MVI decreased the actuarial survival rates at 1 year (p = 0.01), but not significantly at 5 and 10 years. MVI and non-MVI survival curves were statistically different with the Peto/Wilcoxon (p = 0.04) and Gehan/Wilcoxon (p = 0.03) tests, but not with the log rank test (p = 0.06). MVI decreased survival in cases with a tumor size of 10 cm or more, capsular invasion, macroscopic venous invasion, stage pT3ab, sarcomatoid cell carcinoma and Fuhrman's grade IV. Only the stage was a significant factor for survival in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: In RCC, MVI is related to cancer progression and survival, but probably not as an independent prognostic factor.     

Stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma: really an early stage?

OBJECTIVE: We review our results on surgical treatment of patients with stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma and we attempted to clarify the prognostic significance of some surgical--pathologic variables. METHODS: From 1993 to 1999, 667 patients received curative lung resection and complete hilar and mediastinal lymphadenectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. Of these, there were 436 Stage I disease (65%), of whom 144 T1N0 and 292 T2N0. No patients had pre- or postoperative radio- or chemotherapy. Prognostic significance of the following independent variables was tested using univariate (log-rank) and multivariate (Cox proportional-hazards) analysis: type of resection (sublobar vs lobectomy vs pneumonectomy), histology (squamous cell vs adenocarcinoma), tumour size (3cm), histologic vascular invasion, visceral pleura involvement, positive bronchial resection margin, general T status. RESULTS: Overall 5-year survival was 63%. In both univariate and multivariate survival analysis, significant prognostic factors were histology (adenocarcinoma 65% vs squamous cell carcinoma 51%), tumour size (3cm 46%), and the presence of negative resection margin. Five-year survival by general T status was 66% in T1N0 vs 55% in T2N0 disease (P=0.19). CONCLUSIONS: Despite advances in early diagnosis and surgical technique, 5-year survival of stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma remains low as compared to survival of other solid organ neoplasm. Tumour size 相似文献   

Vascular endothelial growth factor as prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma

PURPOSE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been recognized as an important constituent of vascularization and growth of solid tumors. Serum VEGF levels were evaluated and correlated to clinicopathologic findings and clinical outcome in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum samples were collected before surgery in 164 patients with RCC. Levels of VEGF165 protein in sera were measured using a quantitative ELISA. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The VEGF165 level in serum was significantly increased (p = 0.0001) in patients with RCC (median 343.4 pg./ml.) compared with the control patients (median 103.8 pg./ml.). The level of VEGF165 in serum correlated to clinical stage and histopathological grade. Patients with VEGF165 levels below median value had significantly longer survival time than patients with higher levels (p = 0.0001). This was also shown when VEGF165 was analyzed in univariate Cox regression (p = 0.0001). The impact of VEGF165 on survival was especially shown in patients having tumors with vein invasion (pT3b-c N0 M0) and in patients with clinical stages I - III (p = 0.0240 and p = 0.0023, respectively). When using multivariate analysis, only tumor stage and grade remained as independent prognostic variables. CONCLUSIONS: In RCC, serum VEGF165 level was significantly correlated to tumor stage and grade. Increased levels were correlated to adverse survival. Although, VEGF did not remain as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis the levels of VEGF165 in serum was found useful for the identification of patients with potentially progressive disease especially for those with vein invasion.