Clinical and pathological characteristics of completely endophytic renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective Completely endophytic renal cell carcinoma (CERCC) is surrounded by non-tumoral renal parenchyma. This study aimed to compare the presentation, pathology, treatment, and outcomes of patients with CERCC or non-CERCC (NCERCC). Materials and Methods Data from patients with localized RCC were retrospectively collected from January 2009 to March 2022. They were classified as CERCC or NCERCC according to the location of the tumor in the kidney. A total of 67 cases of CERCC and 813 cases of NCERCC were included. Results CERCC accounted for 7.6% of all localized RCC. For patients with CERCC, the mean age was 58.5 years old, 59.7% (40/67) of the patients were male, and 20.9% of the patients presented with symptoms that were not significantly different from those with NCERCC. Pathologically, CERCCs were smaller (2.9 vs. 4.4, P<0.001) and had an earlier stage than NCERCCs. There was a significant difference in the distribution of pathological types between the two groups. However, the distribution of the pathological grades showed no significant differences. During the median follow-up period of 52 months, patients with CERCC tended to live longer than those with NCERCC (p=0.118). Conclusion CERCC is a renal tumor with a special location and differs in terms of tumor size, stage, pathology, and prognosis with NCERCC.