Prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

We studied 569 cases of renal cell carcinoma in the file5 of the Department of Pathology of the Nor~vegian Radium Hospital from 1964 to 1974. A nephrectorny had been perfornied in all cases. Clinical information on sex, age, survival time and metastases was traced. The histological slides were examined and turnour growth pattern, cell type, cell shape, nuclear atypia, abnormal nucleoli, nuclear grade, va s c~~l ainrv asion and tumour demarcation mere all evaluated. Besides well-known prognostic factors j ~ ~ cash t uniour stage, presence or absence of metastases and vascular invasion, nuclear grade \sas found to be a useful prognostic factor. Younger patients were found to do better than older, and women better than men. Smaller tumours carried a better prognosis than larger and clear cell turnours had a better prognosis than those composed of eosinophilic or basophilic cells. The presence of spindle cells was a bad prognostic omen.