Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine trends in clinicopathological characteristics of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cases at presentation in a single institution over a 25-years period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The medical files of 505 patients with histologically confirmed primary RCC from 1981 to 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Host and tumor characteristics at presentation were compared following stratification by hospitalization period (1981-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2006). RESULTS: Age at presentation did not change significantly over time. The incidentally diagnosed cases increased significantly by time (10.2, 40.5, 62.7%), in proportion to small (<4 cm) tumors (8.6, 17.3, 30.6%), while tumor diameter decreased significantly (8.5 +/- 3.8, 7.4 +/- 3.5, 5.8 +/- 2.9). The rate of organ-confined tumors increased significantly (42.1, 63.6, 68.9%), followed by a less pronounced decrease of metastatic cases (12.3, 8.9, 6.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The evolution of tumor characteristics at presentation in a single institution is apparent within the last 25 years. Major changes were noticed within organ-confined and small tumors and call for familiarization of urologists with nephron-sparing techniques and novel ablation technologies.