Loss of chromosome 9p is an independent prognostic factor in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Loss of chromosome 9p has been implicated in the progression of renal cell carcinoma. We evaluated the clinical utility of fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of loss of chromosome 9p in 73 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinomas with varied stage, size, grade, necrosis (SSIGN) scores. Loss of chromosome 9p was observed in 13 tumors (18%). The 5-year cancer-specific survival of patients without loss of chromosome 9p was 88% and was 43% in those with loss of chromosome 9p (P<0.001). Local extension of the primary tumor according to the 2002 TNM staging system, lymph node involvement, the presence of distant metastases, and the SSIGN score were the other variables that predicted cancer-specific survival in univariate analysis. Loss of chromosome 9p was an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. Our data indicate that the detection of chromosome 9p loss by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma adds prognostic information beyond the pathological factors included in the current predictive models for renal cell carcinoma, such as SSIGN score.