Hemodialysis Patients Not More Likely to Die from Renal Cell Carcinoma

PARIS—Hemodialysis (HD) patients are no more likely to die from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) than patients with normal renal function, but they have decreased overall survival, Japanese investigators reported at the 27^th Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology.

Shingo Hatakeyama, MD, of the Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine in Hirosaki, and colleagues reviewed the oncologic outcomes of pT1NOMO RCC detected by annual computed tomography (CT) screening. The study population consisted of 119 patients with incidentally detected pT1NOMO RCC: 13 HD patients and 106 age-matched patients without renal dysfunction (controls). Cancer-specific survival rates were 92% and 95% in the HD patients and controls, respectively, a nonsignificant difference between the groups. Overall five-year survival rates did differ significantly: 54% vs. 96%.

The researchers concluded that their study provides no evidence of the oncologic effectiveness of annual CT screening for HD patients.

From the April 01, 2012 Issue of Renal and Urology News