Outcome of Isolated Renal Cell Carcinoma Fossa Recurrence After Nephrectomy

PURPOSE: Local recurrence of renal cell carcinoma in the renal fossa after complete radical nephrectomy is uncommon. We characterize and determine outcome in a small subset of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1970 to 1998 the incidence of isolated renal bed recurrence among 1,737 T1-3N0M0 unilateral nephrectomy cases was 1. 8% (standard error SE 0.4) at 5 years. There were 30 patients in whom isolated local fossa carcinoma recurred after complete radical nephrectomy without evidence of metastatic disease. Patients with any nodal involvement at radical nephrectomy were excluded from study as were those who had undergone any form of partial nephrectomy. Patient charts were reviewed for clinical presentation, stage, treatment, development of metastatic disease and survival. Pathological stage was assigned according to the 1997 TNM staging system. Recurrence was identified in 12 (40%) patients during routine followup and the remaining 18 (60%) presented with symptoms related to the recurrent tumor. Patients were divided into 3 treatment groups of observation (9), therapy excluding surgical extirpation (11) and complete surgical resection alone or in conjunction with additional therapy (10). Mean time from local recurrence to development of metastatic disease was calculated. Survival from local recurrence to overall death and disease specific death was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Survival curves for the different treatment groups were then compared. RESULTS: There were 30 patients identified with an ipsilateral renal fossa recurrence of renal cell carcinoma after complete nephrectomy in the absence of disseminated disease. Mean followup was 3.3 years (range 0.006 to 14.8) and no patient was lost to followup. The T stage of the primary tumor was T1/T2 in 13 cases, T3a in 4, T3b in 12, and T3c in 1, and all were node negative. Mean time to metastasis was 1. 6 years (range 0.006 to 7.3) in the 19 patients who had documented interval metastatic disease after local recurrence. There were 26 deaths, of which 25 were disease specific. Estimated overall crude and cause specific survival at 1 and 5 years was 66% and 28%, respectively. Calculating survival among symptomatic and asymptomatic patients revealed no discernible difference in outcome (p = 0.94). The 5-year survival rate with surgical resection was 51% (SE 18) compared to 18% (12) treated with adjuvant medical therapy and only 13% (12) with observation alone. The differences in cause specific survival were significant (p </=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Isolated local recurrence is rare with less than a 2% incidence at 5-year followup. Presently long-term survival with locally recurrent renal cell carcinoma is poor with a 28% survival rate at 5 years. However, patients who underwent surgical resection had an improved 5-year cause specific survival rate of 51% compared to 18% treated with adjuvant medical therapy and 13% with observation alone. This finding suggests that select patients may benefit from an aggressive surgical approach.