OBJECTIVE: There is currently no consensus concerning the age limit for the surgical management of kidney tumours and very limited data are available in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morbidity of renal cancer surgery in elderly patients in order to determine the benefit/risk balance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 157 patients operated for kidney tumour in our department. Two groups were defined: one group of 40 patients over the age of 80 years and another group of 117 patients under the age of 80 years at the time of surgery. The following elements were compared in the 2 groups: presence or absence of symptoms, general state (evaluated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score), associated comorbidities (evaluated by the American Society of Anesthesiologists score), preoperative haemoglobin and serum creatinine, histological examination of the tumour, medical and surgical complication rate, postoperative mortality, length of hospital stay and specific survival. RESULTS: Tumour characteristics were identical in each group except for the presence of distant metastases which were more frequent in the group of patients young than 80. Older patients had a significantly higher preoperative serum creatinine (p = 0.01), a higher ASA score (p = 0.001), a higher medical complication rate (p < 0.00001) and a higher mortality (p = 0.04). At the end of follow-up, the specific survival was comparable in the two groups (32.5% versus 40%). CONCLUSION: Tumour characteristics and specific survival after surgical management of kidney tumours are comparable in elderly patients and younger patients. The risks of complications and impaired renal function were higher in elderly patients undergoing total nephrectomy. Close surveillance as well as minimally invasive alternatives will probably have an increasingly important place in the future, especially in patients presenting a major surgical risk.
OBJECTIVE: There is currently no consensus concerning the age limit for the surgical management of kidney tumours and very limited data are available in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morbidity of renal cancer surgery in elderly patients in order to determine the benefit/risk balance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in 157 patients operated for kidney tumour in our department. Two groups were defined: one group of 40 patients over the age of 80 years and another group of 117 patients under the age of 80 years at the time of surgery. The following elements were compared in the 2 groups: presence or absence of symptoms, general state (evaluated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score), associated comorbidities (evaluated by the American Society of Anesthesiologists score), preoperative haemoglobin and serum creatinine, histological examination of the tumour, medical and surgical complication rate, postoperative mortality, length of hospital stay and specific survival. RESULTS:Tumour characteristics were identical in each group except for the presence of distant metastases which were more frequent in the group of patients young than 80. Older patients had a significantly higher preoperative serum creatinine (p = 0.01), a higher ASA score (p = 0.001), a higher medical complication rate (p < 0.00001) and a higher mortality (p = 0.04). At the end of follow-up, the specific survival was comparable in the two groups (32.5% versus 40%). CONCLUSION:Tumour characteristics and specific survival after surgical management of kidney tumours are comparable in elderly patients and younger patients. The risks of complications and impaired renal function were higher in elderly patients undergoing total nephrectomy. Close surveillance as well as minimally invasive alternatives will probably have an increasingly important place in the future, especially in patients presenting a major surgical risk.