Does left side renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with renal vein/vena cava thrombus predict worse prognosis than equivalent right side RCC tumor thrombus?

Demographic Patterns and Clinicopathological Analysis of Sarcomatoid Renal Cell Carcinoma in US Population

BACKGROUND

Sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is defined by the presence of any amount of sarcomatoid components admixed with other RCC histologic subtypes. Our investigation utilizes a large, diverse set of sarcomatoid RCC patients to summarize clinical, demographic, and pathological factors along with demographic disparities that may affect the prognosis and survival of sarcomatoid RCC patients.

METHODS

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was employed to compile data from 2000 to 2018 from 2695 patients diagnosed with sarcomatoid RCC.

RESULTS

The mean age for sarcomatoid RCC diagnosis is 62.8 years. Males (68.2%) and White patients (82.6%) were more likely to be diagnosed with sarcomatoid RCC. Among the 64.4% of tumors with known size, 35.4% were less than 7 cm, 27.6% were 7.1 to 10 cm, and 36.4% were larger than 10 cm. Among the 95.8% of patients with known stage, 15.3% were localized, 28.9% were regionalized, and 55.8% were found in distant sites. Among the 44.2% of cases with known metastases site, lung was found to be the most common metastatic site.. Surgery was the most common treatment (70.9%). While the overall 5-year survival was 18.1%, it was 27.1% among patients who underwent surgery. Independent risk factors for mortality include age > 60 years, distant stage, and tumor size > 10 cm, per our multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

Sarcomatoid RCC most commonly affects White males in their seventh decade. Increased age, distant stage, and size > 10 cm tumor size have associations with unfavorable prognosis. Surgery is associated with better survival outcomes in localized disease and multimodal therapy (surgery with adjuvant chemoradiation was associated with better survival.).

Renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus: A review of relevant anatomy and surgical techniques for the general urologist

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is estimated to account for 4.1% of all new cancer diagnoses and 2.4% of all cancer deaths in 2020 according to the National Cancer Institute SEER database. This will likely total 73,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths. RCC is one of the most lethal of the common cancers urologists will encounter with a 5-year relative survival of 75.2%. Renal cell carcinoma is one of a small subset of malignancies that are associated with tumor thrombus formation, which is tumor extension into a blood vessel. An estimated 4% to 10% of patients with RCC will have some degree of tumor thrombus extending into the renal vein or inferior vena cava at the time of diagnosis. Tumor thrombi change the staging of RCC and therefore are an important part of initial patient workup. It is known that such tumors are more aggressive with higher Fuhrman grades, N+ or M+ at time of surgery and have higher probability of recurrence with lower cancer-specific survival. Aggressive surgical intervention with radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy can be performed with survival benefits. Classifying the level of the tumor thrombus becomes vitally important in surgical planning as it will dictate the surgical approach. Level 0 thrombi may be amenable to simple renal vein ligation while level 4 can require thoracotomy and possible open-heart surgery with coordination of many surgical teams. Here we will review the anatomy associated with each level of tumor thrombus and attempt to construct an outline for surgical techniques that may be used. We aim to give a concise overview so that general urologists may use it to understand these potentially complicated cases.

Prognostic Significance of NLR About NETosis and Lymphocytes Perturbations in Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma With Tumor Thrombus

Background

Non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with tumor thrombus showed a greater tendency for developing metastases after surgery. Early identification of patients with high risk of poor prognosis is especially important to explore adjuvant treatment of improving outcomes. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was a systemic inflammation marker and outcome predictor in RCC, reflecting the chaos in systemic immune status in cancer as myeloid cell expansion and lymphatic cell suppression. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) formation (NETosis) is the process of neutrophils generating an extracellular DNA net-like structure. NETosis in tumor was demonstrated to conduce to the subsequent metastases of tumor. However, the role of NLR for systemic immune status and tumor local immune infiltration, especially for neutrophil-associated NETs, in non-metastatic RCC with thrombus remains unclear.

Patients and Methods

In our clinical cohort, we enrolled the clinical, pathologic, and preoperative laboratory parameters of 214 RCC patients with tumor thrombus who were treated surgically. The clinical endpoint was defined as cancer-specific survival (CSS). In our basic research cohort, RNA-seq, TCR-seq, and scRNA-seq data were analyzed. Patients who reached the endpoint as recurrence-free survival (RFS) were defined as the “High-risk” group. Otherwise, they were separated into the “Low-risk” group.

Results

In the clinical cohort, NLR≥4 was an independent risk factor for 203 localized RCC with tumor thrombus. In the basic research cohort, tumor thrombi were separated into NETosis-thrombi belonging to the “High-risk” group and non-NETosis-thrombi to the “Low-risk” group. NETs induced by tumor-derived G-CSF in tumor thrombus has a mechanistic role in unfavorable prognosis. Besides, NETs-score from single sample GSEA (ssGSEA) algorithm was an independent prognostic factor validated in the TCGA data. Apart from the neutrophils-associated NETosis, systemic immune perturbations of lymphocytes occurred in the “High-risk” group, represented with decreased TCR diversity and increasingly high proportion of CD4-positive effector memory T (Tem) cells, which indirectly represented the state of lymphopenia.

Conclusions

Our findings firstly demonstrated that neutrophils-associated NETosis and systemic lymphocytes perturbations were considered as tumor progression in patients of localized RCC with tumor thrombus, which reflected NLR≥4 as an independent risk factor for patients.

Is left-sided involvement of hepatocellular carcinoma an important preoperative predictive factor of poor outcome?

Background

The tumor location is the most simple clinical factor and important in liver surgery to make surgical procedure. However, no previous study has investigated the prognostic differences and clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma showing specific laterality. This study is the first report to focus on the laterality and aimed to lead to more simple and useful predictive factor rather than recent complicated predictive models.

Methods

Patients who underwent liver resection for the first time for single tumors located within each lobe between 2000 and 2018 were enrolled. We divided them into two groups based on tumor location: a right-sided group and a left-sided group. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to assess survival differences in relation to several other factors.

Results

There were 595 eligible patients; the 5-year survival rates and disease-free survival rates were 49.5% and 19.1% in the left-sided group and 55.6% and 24.5% in the right-sided group, respectively (p = 0.026). Statistical analyses revealed that the following preoperative prognostic factors were independently significant (p < 0.05) in the left-sided group: indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min, alpha fetoprotein, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonists-II level, and larger tumor size.

Conclusion

The left-sided group had a poorer prognosis than the right-sided group. A left-sided tumor location is a significant preoperative factor predictive of poor outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography findings of canine primary renal tumors including renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and hemangiosarcoma

In veterinary medicine, abdominal ultrasonography is used to rank the differential diagnosis of renal lesions. However, a conventional sonographic examination may show nonspecific findings. The purpose of this study was to assess the computed tomography (CT) findings of canine renal tumors, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC), lymphoma, and hemangiosarcoma (HSA). In this retrospective study, the following CT parameters were recorded for each dog: 1) extent of renal involvement of tumors, 2) enhancement pattern, 3) number of renal tumors, 4) renal tumor vessel enhancement in the corticomedullary phase, 5) presence of lymphadenopathy and lung metastasis, and 6) attenuation values of the renal tumors on the pre- and post-contrast corticomedullary, nephrographic, and excretory phase images. Fifteen dogs met the inclusion criteria, of which nine had RCCs, four had lymphomas, and two had HSAs. RCCs tended to show heterogeneous enhancement and unilateral renal involvement, and vessel enhancement was detected in the corticomedullary phase in dogs with RCC. Conversely, renal lymphomas showed homogeneous enhancement, bilateral renal involvement, and multiple masses; in these dogs, no vessel enhancement was detected in the corticomedullary phase, and the incidence of lymphadenopathy was low. However, in dogs with lymphadenopathy, the renal lymphoma was associated with regionally severe lymphadenopathy. Finally, renal HSAs tended to show heterogeneous enhancement with a non-enhanced area and unilateral renal involvement; in these dogs, vessel enhancement was detected in the nephrographic phase, with the enhancement expanding around the vessel. These findings had no significant differences. Further studies with a larger sample size are required to examine the association between CT and histopathological findings.

Precise control of caval and hepatic vessels: Surgical technique to treat level III caval thrombus concomitant to renal cell carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

We investigated the surgical techniques, safety, and prevention of complications of nephrectomy and removal of tumour thrombus for treating level III inferior vena cava (IVC) concomitant to renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We did this by precise controlling IVC and hepatic vessels without a vascular bypass.

METHODS

In this series, we included 5 patients with level III IVC tumour thrombus below the hepatic vein concomitant to RCC. After precisely controlling the IVC and hepatic vessels, we then removed the thrombus en bloc with the renal vein. Blood loss volume, IVC clamping time, hypotension time, resuscitation, cardiocerebrovascular complications, and postoperative organ dysfunction were observed.

RESULTS

Surgery was successfully performed without perioperative death. Blood loss volume was 900 to 1500 mL, operation time was 165 to 250 minutes, vascular clamping time was 8 to 12 minutes, and intraoperative hypotension time was 9 to 12 minutes. Serious perioperative complications were not observed. Local recurrence was not observed during the 9 to 24 months of follow-up. One patient exhibited disease-free survival, 3 developed lung or liver metastasis, and 1 died 11 months after surgery.

CONCLUSION

Precise control of IVC and hepatic pedicle vessels, without vascular bypass, is a safe and effective surgical treatment for level III tumor thrombus below the hepatic vein concomitant to RCC. The procedure was conducted without increased risks of intraoperative hypotensive shock, difficult resuscitation, pulmonary embolism, and multiple organ dysfunctions.

Clinical and radiographic predictors of the need for inferior vena cava resection during nephrectomy for patients with renal cell carcinoma and caval tumour thrombus

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical and radiographic predictors of the need for partial or circumferential resection of the inferior vena cava (IVC) requiring complex vascular reconstruction during venous tumour thrombectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data were collected on 172 patients with RCC and IVC (levels I-IV) venous tumour thrombus who underwent radical nephrectomy with tumour thrombectomy at the Mayo Clinic between 2000 and 2010. Preoperative imaging was re-reviewed by one of two radiologists blinded to details of the patient's surgical procedure. Univariable and multivariable associations of clinical and radiographic features with IVC resection were evaluated by logistic regression. A secondary analysis was used to assess the ability of the model to predict histological invasion of the IVC by the tumour thrombus.

RESULTS

Of the 172 patients, 38 (22%) underwent IVC resection procedures during nephrectomy. Optimum radiographic thresholds were determined to predict the need for IVC resection based on preoperative imaging included a renal vein diameter at the renal vein ostium (RVo) of 15.5 mm, maximum anterior-posterior (AP) diameter of the IVC of 34.0 mm and AP and coronal diameters of the IVC at the RVo of 24 and 19 mm, respectively. On multivariable analysis, the presence of a right-sided tumour (odds ratio 3.3; P = 0.017), an AP diameter of the IVC at the RVo of ≥24.0 mm (odds ratio 4.4; P = 0.017), and radiographic identification of complete occlusion of the IVC at the RVo (odds ratio 4.9; P < 0.001) were associated with a significantly increased risk of IVC resection. The c-index for the model was 0.81.

CONCLUSIONS

We present a multivariable model of the radiographic features associated with the need for IVC resection during tumour thrombectomy. Pending external validation, this model may be used for preoperative planning, patient counselling and planned involvement of vascular surgical colleagues in anticipation of the need for complex vascular repair.

The risk of venous thromboembolism in renal cell carcinoma patients with residual tumor thrombus

BACKGROUND

The clinical importance of tumor thrombus in patients with renal cell carcinoma is unknown. We sought to determine the long-term risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with residual tumor thrombus postextraction, and to evaluate the impact of residual tumor thrombus on overall survival.

PATIENTS/METHODS

A cohort study of patients with stage III-IV renal cell carcinoma undergoing nephrectomy was undertaken. The primary endpoint was the risk of VTE during a 2-year follow-up period. The secondary endpoint was 2-year overall survival.

RESULTS

A total of 170 surgical renal cell carcinoma patients were included, 97 (57.1%) of whom had tumor thrombus. Patients with residual tumor thrombus following surgery had a higher risk of developing VTE than those with complete tumor thrombus resection (hazard ratio [HR] 8.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-43.4) and no tumor thrombus (HR 6.5, 95% CI 1.7-24.7). Patient with residual tumor thrombus did not have worse overall survival than those with tumor thrombus completely resected or those without tumor thrombus.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of residual tumor thrombus is an important risk factor for VTE among renal cell carcinoma patients.