Evaluation of Factors Affecting Metastasis Renal Cell Carcinoma Based on Current Guidelines in Japan

Background/Aim: To analyze the suitability for metastasis evaluation of each pathologic item on the Fourth Edition of the General Rule for Clinical and Pathologic Studies on Renal Cell Carcinoma in Japan. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively examined 457 cases of renal operation after 2011 using the current edition of the guidelines. Results: The mean postoperative follow-up period was 25.3 months. Radical nephrectomy was performed in 264 cases, whereas partial nephrectomy was performed in 193 cases. Including the 33 cases discovered after operation, the overall number of metastatic cases was 68 (14.9%). Using the current edition of the guidelines, the items of histologic grade, morphology of tumor invasion, tumor pseudocapsule, and intrarenal metastasis were all correlated with distant metastasis. Conclusion: This is the first report showing that each item on the current Japanese guidelines for renal cell cancer was useful for predicting metastasis.