Tumor necrosis as a prognostic variable for the clinical outcome in patients with renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Background Tumor necrosis (TN) correlates with adverse outcomes in numerous solid tumors. However, its prognostic value in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unclear. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate associations between TN and cancer-specific survival (CSS), overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free-survival (PFS) in RCC.

Methods Electronic searches in PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science were conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to evaluate relationships between TN and RCC. A fixed- or random-effects model was used to calculate pooled HRs and 95%CIs according to heterogeneity.

Results A total of 34 cohort studies met the eligibility criteria of this meta-analysis. The results showed that TN was significantly predictive of poorer CSS (HR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.23-1.53, p

Conclusions The present study suggests that TN is associated with CSS, OS, RFS and PFS clinical outcomes of RCC patients and may serve as a predictor of poor prognosis in these patients.