Surgical management and prognostic factors in liver metastases from kidney cancer

Aim. To evaluate short- and long-term results of surgical treatment of the liver metastases from kidney cancer, to identify prognostic factors.

Materials and methods. The retrospective study included 67 patients who underwent surgical treatment for liver metastases from kidney cancer from 1990 to 2019. A total of 71 operations on the liver were performed (53 economical resections, 15 extensive resections, 3 radiofrequency thermoablation). Four of them were repeated for the development of metastases in the liver remant.

Results. Postoperative morbidity was 30%. There was one (1,5%) intraoperative death. Within 90 days after surgery, all patients were alive. The 5-year overall survival was 64%, median was 73 months. Univariate analysis revealed factors that significantly worsened overall survival: stage III and IV kidney cancer at the time of nephrectomy; nonclear cell histological type of metastases; synchronous liver metastases; intraoperative blood loss more than 2000 ml. Gender, age (≥ 65 years) at the time of surgery, number of metastases, maximum diameter of the metastases, presence of extrahepatic disease and major liver resection did not have a statistically significant impact on overall survival.

Conclusions. Surgical treatment allows to achieve long-term overall survival of patients with liver metastases from kidney cancer. Higher indicators of overall survival were noted in the clear-cell variant of kidney cancer, stage I–II, and the metachronic nature of hepatic metastases. Patients with large (≥4 cm) and multiple resectable liver metastases, having solitary and single metastases in other organs, provided that they are radically removed, can also be considered as candidates for surgical treatment.

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