It is unknown whether the survival benefit of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) applies to patients with primary tumor size ≤4 cm.
To test the association between CN on overall survival (OS) of mRCC patients with primary tumor size ≤4 cm.
Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2006-2018), all mRCC patients with primary tumor size ≤4 cm were identified.
Propensity score matching (PSM), Kaplan-Meier plots, multivariable Cox regression analyses, and 6-mo landmark analyses addressed OS according to CN status. Sensitivity analyses examined specific populations of special interest: systemic therapy exposed versus naïve, clear-cell (ccmRCC) versus non-clear-cell (non-ccmRCC) mRCC histology, historical (2006-2012) versus contemporary (2013-2018), and young (≤65 yr) versus old (>65 yr) patients.
Of 814 patients, 387 (48%) underwent CN. After PSM, the median OS was 44 versus 7 mo (Δ = 37 mo; p < 0.001) in CN versus no-CN patients. CN was associated with higher OS in overall population (multivariable hazard ratio [HR]: 0.30; p < 0.001) as well as in landmark analyses (HR: 0.39; p < 0.001). In all sensitivity analyses, CN was independently associated with higher OS: systemic therapy exposed, HR: 0.38; systemic therapy naïve, HR: 0.31; ccmRCC, HR: 0.29; non-ccmRCC, HR: 0.37; historical, HR: 0.31; contemporary, HR: 0.30; young, HR: 0.23; and old, HR: 0.39 (all p < 0.001).
The current study validates the association between CN and higher OS in patients with primary tumor size ≤4 cm. This association is robust, controlled for immortal time bias, and valid across systemic treatment exposure, histologic subtypes, years of surgery, and patient age.
In the current study, we tested the association between cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) and overall survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and small primary tumor size. We found a strong association between CN and survival, which persists even after several significant variations in patient and tumor characteristics.
European urology focus. 2023 Mar 09 [Epub ahead of print]
Stefano Tappero, Francesco Barletta, Mattia Luca Piccinelli, Cristina Cano Garcia, Reha-Baris Incesu, Simone Morra, Lukas Scheipner, Zhe Tian, Stefano Parodi, Paolo Dell'Oglio, Carlotta Palumbo, Alberto Briganti, Ottavio De Cobelli, Felix K H Chun, Markus Graefen, Nicola Longo, Sascha Ahyai, Fred Saad, Shahrokh F Shariat, Nazareno Suardi, Marco Borghesi, Carlo Terrone, Pierre I Karakiewicz
Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy; Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Integrated Sciences (DISC), University of Genova, Genova, Italy. Electronic address: ., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Unit of Urology/Division of Oncology, Gianfranco Soldera Prostate Cancer Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, IEO European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada., IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy; Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Integrated Sciences (DISC), University of Genova, Genova, Italy., Department of Urology, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy; Department of Urology, Netherlands Cancer Institute-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Interventional Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands., Division of Urology, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Maggiore della Carità Hospital, Novara, Italy., Unit of Urology/Division of Oncology, Gianfranco Soldera Prostate Cancer Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, IEO European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany., Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy., Department of Urology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan., Department of Urology, Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.