Results of radical nephrectomy with extensive lymphadenectomy for renal cell carcinoma.

Radical nephrectomy with extensive lymphadenectomy was performed by the same surgeon on 104 consecutive patients with renal cell carcinoma. No significant differences in over-all survival owing to age, sex and preoperative embolization were noted. Only extension of the disease proved to be important as a prognostic factor. In the light of the statistical analysis of this variable the prognosis for patients with renal cell carcinoma has been classified as 1) good--patients with tumors confined to the kidney, 2) intermediate--patients with perirenal fat involvement, lymph node metastases and venous extension, and 3) poor--patients with distant metastases.