Epidemiological and Histopathological Study of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence of Renal Cell Carcinomas (RCCs) has increased steadily and they have become the seventh most common histological type of cancer across the globe. Aim: To assess the profile of the patients of RCC with respect to age distribution, sex distribution, clinical presentation, site of tumour, risk factors, staging, histopathological examination, and operative complications. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in Department of Urology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Sciences, Patna, Bihar, India, from January 2019 to June 2020, that included patients with RCC. The pathology specimens and reports of patients with RCC who underwent laparoscopic, open, cytoreductive, and partial nephrectomy were reviewed. Data related to demographic characteristics, site of tumour, risk factors, co-morbidities, clinical features, histopathology, tumour grade and stage, type of surgery, intra-and postoperative complications, and Fuhrman nuclear grading system were recorded. Results: Total 60 patients diagnosed with RCC were included in this study. Of these, majority of patients were men (n=44). Majority of patients belonged to the age group of ≤60 years (n=39). Smoking (n=30), hypertension (n=30), obesity (n=20), and occupational exposure (n=8) were major risk factors associated with RCC. Haematuria (n=36), flank pain (n=24), hematuria and lump, with flank pain (n=18), and weight loss (n=18) were the most common clinical features in patients with RCC. According to the histopathologic type, 30 (50.0%) patients had clear cell RCC, 18 (30.0%) had papillary RCC, 8 (13.3%) had chromophobe RCC and the other four (6.7%) had cystic neoplasm, urothelial, angiomyolipoma, or sarcomatoid. Twenty-four patients underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy while 31 patients underwent open nephrectomy. Cytoreductive and partial nephrectomy was performed in three and two patients, respectively. Conclusion: The present study findings suggest that age has an impact on development of RCC. Also, intraoperative and postoperative complications were more common among patients who underwent open nephrectomy.