Correlation Between Size of Renal Cell Carcinoma and Its Grade, Stage, and Histological Subtype

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between histological subtype, size, grade, and stage of the kidney tumors and to investigate whether a correlation exists between the size of the kidney tumor and its behavior. Materials and Methods: Between 1996 and 2004, we had 212 patients with radical or partial nephrectomy due to a kidney tumor at Shaheed Labbafinejad Medical Center. Their pathologic blocks were re-evaluated with consideration of their tumor size and pathologic features. Results: Of 212 pathologic blocks, 17 (8%) were benign and 195 (92%) were malignant masses including 179 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors. Malignant tumors were slightly greater compared with the benign ones (P = .10). There was no significant relation between the size of tumor and the histological subtype. Significant relations between the size of the kidney tumor and the nuclear grade (P = .007), clinical symptoms (P = .02), and extracapsular extension (P However, smaller RCC tumors were not significantly different from those larger than 4 cm regarding the nuclear grade, symptoms, and histological subtypes. Conclusions: Tumor size is not an independent predictor for the histological subtype of the tumors; however, larger malignant tumors may have higher grades, higher stages, and clinical symptoms.

Keywords

• kidney neoplasms
• tumor size
• pathologic grade
• stage
• renal
• cell carcinoma