Lymph node dissection should not be dismissed in case of localized renal cell carcinoma in the presence of larger diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether even in the group of localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC), some patients might harbor a disease with a predilection for lymph node invasion (LNI) and/or lymph node (LN) progression and might deserve lymph node dissection (LND) at the time of surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 1990 and 2014, 2,010 patients with clinically defined T1-T2N0M0 RCC were treated with nephrectomy and standardized LND at a single tertiary care referral center. The endpoint consists of the presence of LNI and/or nodal progression, defined as the onset of a new clinically detected lymphadenopathy (>10mm) in the retroperitoneal lymphatic area with associated systemic progression or histological confirmation or both. We tested the association between clinical characteristics and the endpoint of interest. Predictors consisted of age at surgery, clinical tumor size, preoperative hemoglobin, and platelets levels. Multivariable logistic regression model and smoothed Lowess method were used.

RESULTS

LNI was recorded in 14 cases (2.2%). The median follow-up after surgery was 68 months. During the study period, 23 patients (1.1%) experienced LN progression; 91% of those patients experienced LN progression within 3 years after surgery. Combining the 2 endpoints, 36 patients (1.8%) had LNI and/or LN progression. Clinical tumor size was the only independent predictors of LNI and/or LN progression (OR = 1.25). A significant increase of the risk of LNI and/or LN progression was observed in RCC larger than 7cm (cT2a or higher).

CONCLUSIONS

LNI and/or LN progression is a rare entity in patients with localized RCC. Nonetheless, patients with larger tumors might still benefit from LND because of a non-negligible risk of LNI and/or LN progression.