Surgical treatment of renal-cell carcinoma in elderly people

Objective: To describe the oncological characteristics and evolution of patients 65 years or older who underwent surgery for renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods: We reviewed our prospectively maintained database of patients with RCC treated surgically. Those >= 65 years old were selected. We analyzed clinical and pathological characteristics as well as oncological and functional outcomes. Overall survival (OS) was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model was used to determine predictors of OS. Results: A total of 156 elderly patients with mean age 72.0 +/- 5.5 years (range 65-92) and median follow-up of 33 months were included. Surgical approach was open radical nephrectomy in 114 (73.5%), laparoscopic radical nephrectomy in 13 (8.4%), open partial nephrectomy in 23 (14.2%) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in 6 (3.9%). Pathological stage was: Stage I, 71 (45.5%); Stage II, 27 (17.3%); Stage III, 48 (30.8%); and Stage IV, 10 (6.4%). Lastly, 51 (32.6%) patients died, 22 (43.1%) from cancer. The 5-year OS according to pathological stage was 77.6%, 71.9%, 45.1% and 11.7% for stage I, II, III and IV, respectively (P<.001). On multivariate analysis, pathological stage independently predicted OS (HR 1.96, 95% CI [1.36-2.84], P=.0003). Conclusions: The surgical management of RCC appears to be safe in properly selected patients 65 years or older. Pathological stage predicts survival in this population. (C) 2016 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.