Renal cell carcinoma under 35 years of age: comparison of survival rates for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies suggest that RCC detected in young adults is likely to be more symptomatic and potentially aggressive, since young patients are less likely to undergo radiologic examinations unless they have symptoms. The aim of this study is to identify the clinical, biological and histological entities of RCC in young patients, and to compare survival rates for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A review of 2,510 records of patients with RCC from 1965 to 2007 was conducted. Thirty-four patients under 35 years old were identified. The Kaplan-Meier system was used to calculate the cumulative survival rate at five and ten years post-surgery as well as the survival prognoses for patients who presented with symptoms and for patients for whom RCC was incidentally diagnosed.
RESULTS: The differences in cumulative survival rates at five and ten years between patients who presented with symptoms and patients whom RCC was incidentally diagnosed were not significant (P = 0.06). The Kaplan-Meier system used to calculate the cumulative survival rate at five and ten years postsurgery yielded survival rates of 79.4% at five years and 73.5% at ten years, respectively. DISCUSSION: The biological and histological entities as well as the survival prognosis for RCC in young patients are similar to those for patients who present with RCC in the sixth and seventh decades of life. Additionally, young adults are likely to be more symptomatic, but the difference in survival between patients with symptoms and those without symptoms is not statistically significant.