The Value of Cytoreductive Nephrectomy for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Targeted Therapy

PurposeWe evaluated the value of cytoreductive nephrectomy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the targeted therapy era.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed the records of 78 patients treated with targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma between 2006 and 2009. A total of 45 patients underwent cytoreductive nephrectomy followed by targeted therapy (cytoreductive nephrectomy group) and 33 were treated with targeted therapy alone (noncytoreductive nephrectomy group). We estimated progression-free and overall survival using Kaplan-Meier curves. The prognostic significance of each variable was estimated with a Cox proportional hazards regression model.ResultsClinicopathological variables did not differ in the 2 groups except for Karnofsky performance status and sarcomatoid feature. The treatment response rate did not differ in the 2 groups (23.1% vs 30.3%, p = 0.488). Median progression-free survival was 11.7 and 9.0 months in the cytoreductive and noncytoreductive nephrectomy groups (p = 0.270), and median overall survival was 21.6 and 13.9 months, respectively (p = 0.128). On multivariate analysis Karnofsky performance status (HR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4–5.7, p = 0.003) and sarcomatoid features (HR 2.9, 95% 1.3–6.7, p = 0.013) were independent predictors of progression-free survival. Karnofsky performance status (HR 3.3, 95% 1.7–6.5, p = 0.001), sarcomatoid features (HR 2.7, 95% 1.2–6.2, p = 0.021) and liver metastasis (HR 2.7, 95% 1.0–7.1, p = 0.045) were independent predictors of overall survival.ConclusionsWe found no significant differences in tumor response or survival between the 2 groups. Prospective trials are needed to confirm our results.