OBJECTIVES: To analyze the clinical behavior of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Korean patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 657 patients with conventional RCC and 71 with chromophobe RCC were included in the analysis. The median follow-up for all patients was 44 months (95% confidence interval, 10 to 126). RESULTS: Patients with chromophobe RCC differed significantly from those with conventional RCC on the following parameters: a greater female ratio (P = 0.019), less advanced TNM stage (P = 0.004), and higher Fuhrman nuclear grade (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference with regard to age and tumor diameter. The 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival rates in patients with chromophobe RCC (92.9% and 92.9%) were higher than in patients with conventional RCC (84.9% and 79.8%). When patients were divided according to T stage, Fuhrman's grade, and tumor size for the subgroup analysis, disease-specific survival probabilities of chromophobe RCC were higher in only tumors with a high Fuhrman's grade (G3/G4) (P = 0.002) and larger than 4 cm (P = 0.025). The multivariate analysis showed that the histologic type was not an independent predictor of disease-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Although Korean patients with chromophobe RCC had a better survival probability than patients with conventional RCC, the histologic type was not an independent predictor of survival probability. In addition, our findings suggest that chromophobe RCC has a better survival probability than conventional RCC in patients with Fuhrman's grade 3 to 4 or with a tumor diameter > 4.0 cm.
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the clinical behavior of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Korean patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 657 patients with conventional RCC and 71 with chromophobe RCC were included in the analysis. The median follow-up for all patients was 44 months (95% confidence interval, 10 to 126). RESULTS:Patients with chromophobe RCC differed significantly from those with conventional RCC on the following parameters: a greater female ratio (P = 0.019), less advanced TNM stage (P = 0.004), and higher Fuhrman nuclear grade (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference with regard to age and tumor diameter. The 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival rates in patients with chromophobe RCC (92.9% and 92.9%) were higher than in patients with conventional RCC (84.9% and 79.8%). When patients were divided according to T stage, Fuhrman's grade, and tumor size for the subgroup analysis, disease-specific survival probabilities of chromophobe RCC were higher in only tumors with a high Fuhrman's grade (G3/G4) (P = 0.002) and larger than 4 cm (P = 0.025). The multivariate analysis showed that the histologic type was not an independent predictor of disease-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Although Korean patients with chromophobe RCC had a better survival probability than patients with conventional RCC, the histologic type was not an independent predictor of survival probability. In addition, our findings suggest that chromophobe RCC has a better survival probability than conventional RCC in patients with Fuhrman's grade 3 to 4 or with a tumor diameter > 4.0 cm.